{"collection":"folklore-oral-tradition","full_text_available":true,"graph_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/api/page/gutenberg_57978/graph","html_url":"https://unchartedknowledge.5gfusion.net/v2/page/gutenberg_57978","id":"gutenberg_57978","license":"Public Domain (US)","rights_basis":"gutenberg_metadata_copyright_false","source":"gutenberg","source_url":"https://www.gutenberg.org/ebooks/57978","summary":null,"tags":["Category: Archaeology & Anthropology","Category: History - Other","Category: Religion/Spirituality","Gems","Gems -- Folklore"],"text":"Produced by Chris Curnow, Les Galloway and the Online\nDistributed Proofreading Team at http://www.pgdp.net (This\nfile was produced from images generously made available\nby The Internet Archive)\n\n\n\n\n\n\nTranscriber\u2019s Notes\n\nObvious typographical errors have been silently corrected. Variations\nin hyphenation and ligatures have been standardised but all other\nspelling and punctuation remains unchanged.\n\nItalics are represented thus _italic_ and superscripts thus y^{en}.\nThe position of hand drawn hieroglyphs has been indicated thus\n[hieroglyph]. All other examples of text within braces is original.\n\nHuntilite, in the index, possibly refers to Heliolite in the text, but\nit is not clear which is intended.\n\nThe 510 footnotes are located at the end of the book.\n\n\n                  The Curious Lore of Precious Stones\n\n\n\n\nLIPPINCOTT\u2019S PRACTICAL BOOKS FOR THE ENRICHMENT OF HOME LIFE\n\n\n THE PRACTICAL BOOK OF DECORATIVE WALL-TREATMENTS. BY NANCY MCCLELLAND.\n\n THE PRACTICAL BOOK OF LEARNING DECORATION AND FURNITURE. BY EDWARD\n STRATTON HOLLOWAY.\n\n THE PRACTICAL BOOK OF CHINAWARE. BY HAROLD DONALDSON EBERLEIN and\n ROGER WEARNE RAMSDELL.\n\n THE PRACTICAL BOOK OF TAPESTRIES. BY GEORGE LELAND HUNTER.\n\n THE PRACTICAL BOOK OF OUTDOOR FLOWERS. BY RICHARDSON WRIGHT, Editor of\n _House and Garden_.\n\n THE PRACTICAL BOOK OF FURNISHING THE SMALL HOUSE AND APARTMENT. BY\n EDWARD STRATTON HOLLOWAY.\n\n THE PRACTICAL BOOK OF INTERIOR DECORATION. BY HAROLD DONALDSON\n EBERLEIN, ABBOT MCCLURE and EDWARD STRATTON HOLLOWAY.\n\n THE PRACTICAL BOOK OF PERIOD FURNITURE. BY HAROLD DONALDSON EBERLEIN\n and ABBOT MCCLURE. Revised and Enlarged.\n\n THE PRACTICAL BOOK OF ORIENTAL RUGS. BY G. GRIFFIN LEWIS.\n\n THE PRACTICAL BOOK OF AMERICAN ANTIQUES. BY HAROLD DONALDSON EBERLEIN\n and ABBOT MCCLURE.\n\n THE PRACTICAL BOOK OF ARCHITECTURE. BY C. MATLACK PRICE.\n\n THE PRACTICAL BOOK OF ITALIAN, SPANISH AND PORTUGUESE FURNITURE. BY\n HAROLD DONALDSON EBERLEIN and ROGER WEARNE RAMSDELL.\n\n\n[Illustration: Asteria\u2014Star Sapphire\nCeylon\n\nAsteria\u2014Star Sapphire\nCeylon\n\nAsteria\u2014Star Sapphire\nCeylon\n\nAsteria\u2014Star Sapphire\nCeylon\n\nRuby\u2014Asteria\u2014Ceylon\n\nAsteria\u2014Star Sapphire\nCeylon\n\nSunstone\nPerth, Canada\n\nMoonstone\u2014with white\nlight\u2014Ceylon\n\nMoonstone\u2014bluish\nchatoyancy\u2014Ceylon\n\nIris\u2014Brazil,\nSouth America\n\nAlexandrite\u2014Green\nCeylon\n\nCat\u2019s Eye\u2014Ceylon\n\nAlexandrite\u2014Red by\nartificial light\u2014Ceylon\n\nPrecious Opal\u2014Hungary\n\nFire Opal\nQueretera, Mexico\n\nBlack Opal\u2014Lightning Ridge,\nNew South Wales\n\n             PHENOMENAL GEMS (GEMS EXHIBITING PHENOMENA)\n                   From the J. P. Morgan Collection,\n             American Museum of Natural History, New York]\n\n\n\n\n                        The Curious Lore of\n                          Precious Stones\n\n  BEING A DESCRIPTION OF THEIR SENTIMENTS\n  AND FOLK LORE, SUPERSTITIONS,\n  SYMBOLISM, MYSTICISM, USE IN MEDICINE,\n  PROTECTION, PREVENTION, RELIGION, AND\n  DIVINATION. CRYSTAL GAZING, BIRTH-STONES,\n  LUCKY STONES AND TALISMANS,\n  ASTRAL, ZODIACAL, AND PLANETARY\n\n                                BY\n\n                       GEORGE FREDERICK KUNZ\n                        A.M., PH.D., D.SC.\n\n        WITH 86 ILLUSTRATIONS IN COLOR, DOUBLETONE AND LINE\n\n\n\n\n                       PHILADELPHIA & LONDON\n\n                     J. B. Lippincott Company\n\n\n\n\n             COPYRIGHT, 1913, BY J. B. LIPPINCOTT COMPANY\n\n                           SIXTH IMPRESSION\n\n                  PRINTED IN UNITED STATES OF AMERICA\n\n\n\n\n  WITH HEARTFELT APPRECIATION OF THE NOBLE SPIRIT THAT CONCEIVED\n  AND FOUNDED THE MORGAN-TIFFANY COLLECTION OF GEMS\n  AND THE MORGAN-BEMENT COLLECTIONS OF MINERALS AND METEORITES\n  OF THE AMERICAN MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY, AND THE\n  MORGAN COLLECTION OF THE MUS\u00c9E D\u2019HISTOIRE NATURELLE OF\n  PARIS, AND WHOSE KINDLY ADVICE AND ENCOURAGEMENT HAVE\n  DONE SO MUCH FOR THE PRECIOUS STONE ART, THIS VOLUME\n  IS RESPECTFULLY DEDICATED TO THE MEMORY OF THE LATE\n  J. PIERPONT MORGAN\n\n\n\n\nPreface\n\n\nThe love of precious stones is deeply implanted in the human heart,\nand the cause of this must be sought not only in their coloring and\nbrilliancy but also in their durability. All the fair colors of flowers\nand foliage, and even the blue of the sky and the glory of the sunset\nclouds, only last for a short time, and are subject to continual\nchange, but the sheen and coloration of precious stones are the same\nto-day as they were thousands of years ago and will be for thousands of\nyears to come. In a world of change, this permanence has a charm of its\nown that was early appreciated.\n\nThe object of this book is to indicate and illustrate the various ways\nin which precious stones have been used at different times and among\ndifferent peoples, and more especially to explain some of the curious\nideas and fancies that have gathered around them. Many of these ideas\nmay seem strange enough to us now, and yet when we analyze them we\nfind that they have their roots either in some intrinsic quality of\nthe stones or else in an instinctive appreciation of their symbolical\nsignificance. Through manifold transformations this symbolism has\npersisted to the present day.\n\nThe same thing may be said in regard to the various superstitions\nconnected with gems. Our scientific knowledge of cause and effect may\nprevent us from accepting any of the fanciful notions of the physicians\nand astrologers of the olden time; nevertheless, the possession of\na necklace or a ring adorned with brilliant diamonds, fair pearls,\nwarm, glowing rubies, or celestial-hued sapphires will to-day make a\nwoman\u2019s heart beat faster and bring a blush of pleasure to her cheek.\nLife will seem better worth living to her; and, indeed, this is no\ndelusion, for life is what our thought makes it, and joy is born of\ngratified desire. Hence nothing that contributes to increasing the sum\nof innocent pleasures should be disdained; and surely no pleasure can\nbe more innocent and justifiable than that inspired by the possession\nof beautiful natural objects.\n\nThe author, who possesses what is believed to be the most comprehensive\nprivate library on this subject, has obtained many references from\nmaterial which he has been gathering during the past twenty-five years.\nMany of the types exist in the collection of folk-lore precious stones\nexhibited at the World\u2019s Columbian Exposition in 1893, and now in the\nField Museum of Natural History in Chicago. Other types are drawn from\nthe Morgan Collection exhibited at the Paris Expositions of 1889 and\n1900, which, with additions, is now in Morgan Hall, in the American\nMuseum of Natural History, New York City.\n\nOther prominent references are the collection of precious stones in\nthe California Midwinter Memorial Museum, in Golden Gate Park, San\nFrancisco; the Tiffany collection of precious stones, exhibited at the\nAtlanta Exposition of 1894, now in the National Museum in Washington;\nthe collection exhibited at the Pan-American Exposition, and presented\nto the Mus\u00e9e d\u2019Histoire Naturelle, in Paris, by the late J. Pierpont\nMorgan; the collection exhibited at the exposition held in Portland,\nOregon, in 1905; and the collection of gems and precious stones\nexhibited at the Jamestown Exposition, 1907. All of these collections,\neither entirely or very largely, have been formed by the author.\n\nSome references to sentiment connected with precious stones are\nembodied in the little work, now in its 21st edition, entitled: \u201cNatal\nStones, Sentiments and Superstitions Associated with Precious Stones,\u201d\ncompiled by the writer, who has examined nearly all the principal\ncollections in the United States, Europe, Mexico, Canada, and Asiatic\nRussia.\n\nFor courtesies, information and illustrations, I am indebted to the\nfollowing, to whom my thanks are due:\n\nProf. Taw Sein Ko, Superintendent of the Arch\u00e6ological Survey, of\nBurma; Dr. T. Wada, of Tokyo, Japan; Dr. G. O. Clerc, President of the\nSoci\u00e9t\u00e9 Ouralienne des Amis des Sciences Naturelles, Ekaterinebourg,\nRussia; Dr. Charles Braddock, late Medical Inspector to the King\nof Siam; Sir Charles Hercules Reed, Curator of Arch\u00e6ology, and Dr.\nErnest A. Wallis Budge, Egyptologist, British Museum, London; A.\nW. Feavearyear, Esq., London; Dr. Salomon Reinach, Director of the\nArcha\u00e6logical Museum of St. Germain-en-Laye, France; Prof. Giuseppe\nBelucci, of the University of Perugia; Dr. Peter Jessen, Librarian\nof the Kunstgewerbe Museum, of Berlin; Miss Belle DaCosta Green; Dr.\nFrederick Hirth, Chinese Professor, Columbia University, New York; Dr.\nClark Wissler, Curator of Arch\u00e6ology, Dr. L. P. Gratacap, Curator of\nMineralogy, American Museum of Natural History; Dr. Berthold Laufer,\nOriental Arch\u00e6ologist, and Dr. Oliver C. Farrington, Curator of Geology\nand Mineralogy, Field Museum of Natural History, Chicago; Hereward\nCarrington, Esq., Psychist, New York; Dr. W. Hayes Ward, Arch\u00e6ologist\nand Babylonian Scholar; Mrs. Henry Draper, New York; H. W. Kent, Esq.,\nMetropolitan Museum of Art, New York City; Consul General Moser,\nColombo, Ceylon; W. W. Blake, Mexico City, who has done so much to\nencourage Mexican arch\u00e6ological investigation; the late A. Damour, of\nParis, the great pioneer of mineralogical arch\u00e6ology; the late Dr. A.\nB. Meyer, of Dresden, who, more than anyone else, proved that the\n_Nephritfrage_ or the jade question was to be solved by chemical and\nmineralogical investigation; the late Rajah Sir Sourindro Mohun Tagore,\nof Calcutta; and Dr. A. M. Lythgoe, Egyptologist, Metropolitan Museum\nof Art.\n\n  G. F. K.\n\n SEPTEMBER, 1913.\n\n\n\n\nContents\n\n\n  CHAPTER                                                           PAGE\n\n  I. SUPERSTITIONS AND THEIR SOURCES                                   1\n\n  II. ON THE USE OF PRECIOUS AND SEMI-PRECIOUS STONES AS\n  TALISMANS AND AMULETS                                               19\n\n  III. ON THE TALISMANIC USE OF SPECIAL STONES                        51\n\n  IV. ON THE USE OF ENGRAVED AND CARVED GEMS AS TALISMANS            115\n\n  V. ON OMINOUS AND LUMINOUS STONES                                  143\n\n  VI. ON CRYSTAL BALLS AND CRYSTAL GAZING                            176\n\n  VII. RELIGIOUS USES OF PRECIOUS STONES, PAGAN, HEBREW, AND\n  CHRISTIAN                                                          225\n\n  VIII. ON THE HIGH-PRIEST\u2019S BREASTPLATE                             275\n\n  IX. BIRTH-STONES                                                   307\n\n  X. PLANETARY AND ASTRAL INFLUENCES OF PRECIOUS STONES              338\n\n  XI. ON THE THERAPEUTIC USE OF PRECIOUS AND SEMI-PRECIOUS\n  STONES                                                             367\n\n\n\n\nIllustrations\n\n\n  COLOR PLATES\n\n                                                                   PAGE\n\n  PHENOMENAL GEMS (GEMS EXHIBITING PHENOMENA)           _Frontispiece._\n\n  MAHARAJA RUNJIT SINGH, WITH PEARLS AND GEMS                         42\n\n  CARDINAL FARLEY\u2019S RING,\u2014SAPPHIRE WITH DIAMONDS                     104\n\n  GEMS FROM THE MORGAN-TIFFANY COLLECTION                            107\n\n  SELF-PRINTS OF DIAMONDS, SHOWING PHOSPHORESCENCE                   170\n\n  CROSS, ATTACHED AS PENDANT TO THE CROWN OF THE GOTHIC KING\n  RECCESVINTHUS (649-672 A.D.)                                       293\n\n\n  DOUBLETONES\n\n  ROCK-CRYSTAL AMULET SET IN SILVER                                   10\n\n  ROCK-CRYSTAL PLACQUE, ANCIENT MEXICAN                               10\n\n  NECKLACES FROM EGYPT. FIRST CENTURY                                 20\n\n  MOSAICS OF TURQUOISE AND ENAMELLED CARNELIAN BEADS                  26\n\n  NECKLACES FROM EGYPT                                                37\n\n  AFRICAN AGATE CHARMS                                                54\n\n  AMBER ORNAMENTS                                                     58\n\n  CHALCEDONY VOTIVE CHARM FROM MEXICO                                 65\n\n  CURIOUS ALTAR OF POWALAWA INDIANS OF ARIZONA                        65\n\n  KABYLE JEWELRY                                                      68\n\n  JASPER PENDANT                                                      93\n\n  PIECE OF NATURAL LOADSTONE FOR MEDICINAL PURPOSES                   93\n\n  ARAGONITE PENDANT                                                   93\n\n  OBSIDIAN MASK, FROM THE FAYOUM, EGYPT                               99\n\n  TURQUOISE NECKLACE, THIBET                                         110\n\n  PH\u0152NICIAN SCARAB, WITH ENGRAVED SCORPION                           123\n\n  ANCIENT BABYLONIAN CYLINDER IMPRESSION, BEARING FIGURES OF THE\n  GOD NEBO AND A WORSHIPPER, AND SYMBOLS OF SUN AND MOON             123\n\n  A SMALL JADE CELT ENGRAVED WITH GNOSTIC INSCRIPTIONS IN THE\n  FOURTH CENTURY                                                     123\n\n  MOSS AGATE MOCHA STONES, HINDOOSTAN                                132\n\n  AGATES USED AS VOTIVE CHARMS AND SET IN RINGS                      149\n\n  ROCK-CRYSTAL BALL PENETRATED BY CRYSTALS OF RUTILE                 176\n\n  GLASS BALL, PERFORATED AND MOUNTED IN METAL                        183\n\n  BALL OF JET, PERFORATED AND MOUNTED IN METAL                       183\n\n  EYE AGATE, SHOWING A NUMBER OF CIRCULAR MARKINGS                   183\n\n  DR. DEE\u2019S SHEW STONE                                               190\n\n  OBSIDIAN MIRROR, WITH NATIVE TEXTILE STRING                        190\n\n  ROCK-CRYSTAL SPHERES AND NATURAL CROSS                             196\n\n  BABYLONIAN CYLINDERS AND PERSIAN BEADS                             204\n\n  ROCK-CRYSTAL SPHERES WITH JAPANESE MOUNTINGS                       209\n\n  CRYSTAL BALL, SUPPORTED BY BRONZE DRAGON                           217\n\n  METHOD OF GRINDING CRYSTAL BALLS AND OTHER HARD STONE OBJECTS\n  IN GERMANY AND FRANCE                                              219\n\n  JAPANESE METHOD OF CHIPPING, GRINDING AND POLISHING ROCK-CRYSTAL\n  BALLS                                                              219\n\n  ROCK-CRYSTAL SPHERE WITH THREE-FIGURE MOUNTING                     221\n\n  \u201cPHANTOM CRYSTAL\u201d OF QUARTZ (ROCK-CRYSTAL)                         224\n\n  ROCK-CRYSTAL BALLS                                                 224\n\n  AMBER HEART-SHAPED AMULET                                          228\n\n  AN INSCRIBED SCARAB OF THE TYPE KNOWN AS A HEART-SCARAB            228\n\n  BABYLONIAN AXE HEAD                                                233\n\n  MANI M\u00c1L\u00c1, OR CHAIN OF GEMS                                        242\n\n  SCULPTURED JADE MOUNTAIN WEIGHING 640 LBS                          245\n\n  VOTIVE ADZE OF JADEITE FROM MEXICO                                 249\n\n  STATUE OF A MAORI WARRIOR, BY SIGURD NEANDROSS                     254\n\n  JADEITE CELTS                                                      264\n\n  STAUROLITE CRYSTALS (FAIRY STONES)                                 271\n\n  FRONTISPIECE OF THE \u201cVESTITUS SACERDOTUM HEBR\u00c6ORUM,\u201d OF\n  JOHANN BRAUN, AMSTERDAM, 1680                                      275\n\n  SILVER CROSS WITH QUARTZ CAT\u2019S-EYE                                 286\n\n  SPECIMENS OF CHIASTOLITE (LAPIS CRUCIFER)                          286\n\n  FACSIMILE OF THE BETROTHAL RING OF THE VIRGIN IN THE CATHEDRAL\n  OF PERUGIA                                                         317\n\n  MOSS AGATES                                                        330\n\n  THE FIGURES OF THE PLANETS WITH THEIR SIGNIFICANT STONES           332\n\n  THE ZODIACAL STONES WITH THEIR SIGNS                               343\n\n  NECKLACES (FIRST CENTURY, A.D., AND ANCIENT PERSIAN)               346\n\n  STATUETTE KNOWN AS THAT OF SAINTE FOY, IN THE ABBEY-CHURCH\n  AT CONQUES, DEPT. AVEYRON, FRANCE                                  356\n\n  INSCRIPTION ON A SMALL PIECE OF LIMESTONE, IN CURSIVE EGYPTIAN\n  WRITING\u2014AN ANCIENT PRESCRIPTION                                   368\n\n  NECKLACES\u2014(1) CARNELIAN BEADS; (2) ONYX BEADS                     370\n\n  FACSIMILE PAGE OF ITALIAN VELLUM MANUSCRIPT TREATISE OF THE\n  VIRTUES OF GEMS                                                    374\n\n  INITIALS FROM THE LAPIDARIO DE ALFONSO X                           377\n\n\n  LINE CUTS IN TEXT\n\n  TITLE PAGE OF THE FIRST EDITION OF THE POETICAL TREATISE ON\n  PRECIOUS STONES BY MARBODUS, BISHOP OF RENNES, PRINTED\n  IN FRIBURG, 1531                                                    15\n\n  TITLE PAGE OF THE FIRST EDITION OF THE GREEK TREATISE BY ST.\n  EPIPHANIUS ON THE GEMS OF THE BREASTPLATE, WITH A LATIN VERSION     16\n\n  TITLE PAGE OF ONE OF THE EARLIEST TREATISES ON PRECIOUS STONES\n  PUBLISHED IN ENGLAND                                                17\n\n  PEARL DEALER                                                        42\n\n  AN AIR-SHIP OF 1709                                                 53\n\n  THE TREE THAT EXUDES AMBER                                          56\n\n  A PRACTICAL TEST OF THE VIRTUES OF THE BLOODSTONE TO PREVENT\n  NOSE-BLEED                                                          60\n\n  CARNELIAN SEAL, WORN BY NAPOLEON I, NAPOLEON III, AND THE PRINCE\n  IMPERIAL                                                            64\n\n  SPECIMEN PAGE OF ITALIAN MANUSCRIPT OF FOURTEENTH CENTURY           77\n\n  OBSIDIAN MIRROR, FROM OAXACA, MEXICO. NOW IN TROCAD\u00c9RO\n  MUSEUM, PARIS                                                       99\n\n  ROCK-CRYSTAL SKULL, ANCIENT MEXICAN                                100\n\n  ENGRAVED HELIOTROPE                                                124\n\n  ENGRAVED RED JASPER                                                124\n\n  GNOSTIC GEMS                                                       127\n\n  ANTIQUE JADE CELT CONVERTED INTO A GNOSTIC TALISMAN                129\n\n  MONOGRAM OF THE NAME OF CHRIST ENGRAVED ON AN ONYX GEM             136\n\n  TWO GOLD RINGS SET WITH ENGRAVED ONYX GEMS                         138\n\n  THE \u201cORPHANUS JEWEL\u201d IN THE GERMAN IMPERIAL CROWN                  147\n\n  TITLE PAGE OF ROBERT BOYLE\u2019S WORK ON THE ORIGIN AND VIRTUES\n  OF GEMS                                                            169\n\n  TITLE PAGE OF A GROUP OF TREATISES BY VARIOUS AUTHORS, COLLECTED\n  AND EDITED BY CONRAD GESNER AT Z\u00dcRICH IN 1565                      258\n\n  THE HEBREW HIGH-PRIEST ATTIRED WITH HIS VESTMENTS                  279\n\n  THE BREASTPLATE UNFOLDED, I, II; EPHOD WITH BREASTPLATE FOLDED\n  AND ATTACHED, III                                                  281\n\n  TITLE PAGE OF THE EDITION OF MARBODUS ON PRECIOUS STONES, PUBLISHED\n  IN COLOGNE, 1539                                                   290\n\n  CARNELIAN, ENGRAVED WITH THE ZODIACAL SIGNS, TAURUS, LEO AND\n  CAPRICORN; IN THE CENTRE A SIX-RAYED STAR, THE FORM OF ONE OF\n  THESE RAYS DENOTING A COMET                                        322\n\n\n\n\n                  The Curious Lore of Precious Stones\n\n\n\n\nI\n\nSuperstitions and Their Sources\n\n\nFrom the earliest times in man\u2019s history gems and precious stones have\nbeen held in great esteem. They have been found in the monuments of\nprehistoric peoples, and not alone the civilization of the Pharaohs, of\nthe Incas, or of the Montezumas invested these brilliant things from\nNature\u2019s jewel casket with a significance beyond the mere suggestion of\ntheir intrinsic properties.\n\nThe magi, the wise men, the seers, the astrologers of the ages gone\nby found much in the matter of gems that we have nearly come to\nforgetting. With them each gem possessed certain planetary attractions\npeculiar to itself, certain affinities with the various virtues, and\na zodiacal concordance with the seasons of the year. Moreover, these\nearly sages were firm believers in the influence of gems in one\u2019s\nnativity,\u2014that the evil in the world could be kept from contaminating\na child properly protected by wearing the appropriate talismanic,\nnatal, and zodiacal gems. Indeed, folklorists are wont to wonder\nwhether the custom of wearing gems in jewelry did not originate in the\ntalismanic idea instead of in the idea of mere additional adornment.\n\nThe influence exerted by precious stones was assumed in medieval times\nwithout question, but when the spirit of investigation was aroused in\nthe Renaissance period, an effort was made to find a reason of some\nsort for the traditional beliefs. Strange as it may seem to us, there\nwas little disposition to doubt that the influence existed; this was\ntaken for granted, and all the mental effort expended was devoted to\nfinding some plausible explanation as to how precious stones became\nendowed with their strange and mystic virtues, and how these virtues\nacted in modifying the character, health, or fortunes of the wearer.\n\nWhen the existence of miracles is acknowledged, there will always be\na tendency to regard every singular and unaccountable happening as a\nmiracle; that is to say, as something that occurs outside of, or in\nspite of, the laws of nature. We even observe this tendency at work in\nour own time. As regards visual impressions, for instance, if a child\nof lively imagination enters a half-lighted room and sees a bundle of\nclothes lying in a corner, the indistinct outline of this mass may be\ntransformed to his mind into the form of a wild animal. The child does\nnot really see an animal, but his fear has given a definite outline and\ncharacter to the indefinite image printed on the retina.\n\nThe writer has always sought to investigate anything strange and\napparently unaccountable which has been brought to his notice, but he\ncan truly say he has never found the slightest evidence of anything\ntranscending the acknowledged laws of nature. Still, when we consider\nthe marvellous secrets that have been revealed to us by science and\nthe yet more wonderful things that will be revealed to us in the\nfuture, we are tempted to think that there may be something in the old\nbeliefs, some residuum of fact, susceptible indeed of explanation, but\nvery different from what a crass scepticism supposes it to be. Above\nall, the results of the investigations now pursued in relation to the\ngroup of phenomena embraced under the designation of telepathy,\u2014the\nsubconscious influence of one mind over an absent or distant mind,\u2014and\nthe wireless transmission of power in wireless telegraphy and\ntelephony, may go far to make us hesitate before condemning as utterly\npreposterous many of the tales of enchantment and magical influence.\nIf the unconscious will of one individual can affect the thoughts and\nfeelings of another individual at a great distance and without the\nintervention of any known means of communication, as is confidently\nasserted by many competent investigators in the domain of telepathy,\ntheir claims being supported by many strange happenings, perhaps the\nresult of coincidence, but possibly due to the operation of some\nunknown law, does this not give a color of verity to the statements\nregarding the ancient magicians and their spells?\n\nAuto-suggestion may also afford an explanation of much that is\nmysterious in the effects attributed to precious stones, for if the\nwearer be firmly convinced that the gem he is wearing produces certain\nresults, this conviction will impress itself upon his thought and hence\nupon his very organism. He will really experience the influence, and\nthe effects will manifest themselves just as powerfully as though they\nwere caused by vibrations or emanations from the material body of the\nstone.\n\nAll this may serve to explain the persistence of the belief in magic\narts. A few hundred years ago, a Hungarian woman was accused of\nhaving murdered two or three hundred young girls, and at her trial\nshe confessed that her object was to use the blood of her victims to\nrenew her youth and beauty, for the blood of innocent virgins was\nsupposed to have wonderful properties. In some parts of England today\nthere is a superstitious belief that an article of clothing worn by a\nperson, or anything he has habitually used, absorbs a portion of his\nindividuality. Therefore, it sometimes happens that a handkerchief,\nfor instance, will be stolen and pinned down beneath the waters of a\nstream on a toad, the pins marking the name of the enemy, the belief\nbeing that as this cloth wastes away, so will the body of him who had\nworn it. In medieval and later times this was the common practice of\nthe sorcerers, although they frequently composed a wax figure rudely\nresembling the person against whom the spell was directed, and then\nthrust pins into this figure or allowed it to melt away before a slow\nfire. The enchantment of the sorcerer was supposed to have caused some\nessence of the personality to enter into the image, and therefore the\nliving and breathing being felt sympathetically the effects of the\nill-treatment inflicted upon its counterfeit.\n\nThe persistence of the most cruel and unnatural practices of old-time\nsorcery is illustrated by the fact that only a few years ago, in the\nisland of Cuba, three women were condemned to death for murdering a\nwhite baby so as to use the heart and blood as a cure for diseases.\nFour other women were sentenced to from fourteen to twenty years\u2019\nimprisonment as accomplices. When such things happen in Cuba, it\nis not surprising that in half-civilized Hayti similar crimes are\ncommitted. Here the Voodoo priests and priestesses, _papalois_ and\n_mamalois_ (papa-kings and mama-queens) require from time to time a\nhuman sacrifice to appease their serpent-god. One strange case is\nrelated where a stupefying potion, inducing a state of apparent death,\nwas secretly administered to a sick man. When the attending physician\npronounced him dead, he was duly interred; but, two days after,\nthe grave was found open and the body had disappeared. The Voodoo\nworshippers had carried the man away so as to revive him and then\nsacrifice him at their fearful rites.\n\nIn a poem addressed to Marguerite de Valois,\u2014\u201cLa Marguerite des\nMarguerites,\u201d as she was called,\u2014by Jean de la Taille de Bondaroy,[1]\nwe read of the diamond that it came from gold and from the sun. But we\nare told that not only are precious stones endowed with life, they also\nare subject to disease, old age, and death; \u201cthey even take offence if\nan injury be done to them, and become rough and pale.\u201d The sickness of\nthe pearl has been a theme for centuries, and in many cases is only\nfancied. It is but a subterfuge or deception for a lady to remark that\nher pearls have sickened; by referring to this sickness, her friends\nare naturally led to believe that at one time her pearls were fine,\nperfect ones, when in reality they may never have been so.\n\nThe opinion given in 1609, by Anselmus De Boot, court physician to\nRudolph II of Germany, regarding the power inherent in certain precious\nstones,[2] embodies the ideas on this subject held by many of the\nenlightened minds of that period.\n\n The supernatural and acting cause is God, the good angel and the evil\n one; the good by the will of God, and the evil by His permission....\n What God can do by Himself, He could do also by means of ministers,\n good and bad angels, who, by special grace of God and for the\n preservation of men, are enabled to enter precious stones and to guard\n men from dangers or procure some special grace for them. However, as\n we may not affirm anything positive touching the presence of angels\n in gems, to repose trust in them, or to ascribe undue powers to them,\n is more especially pleasing to the spirit of evil, who transforms\n himself into an angel of light, steals into the substance of the\n little gem, and works such wonders by it that some people do not place\n their trust in God but in a gem, and seek to obtain from it what they\n should ask of God alone. Thus it is perhaps the spirit of evil which\n exercises its power on us through the turquoise, teaching us, little\n by little, that safety is not to be sought from God but from a gem.\n\nIn the next chapter of his work, De Boot, while extolling the remedial\npower of a certain group of stones, insists upon the falsity of many of\nthe superstitions regarding these objects.[3]\n\n That gems or stones, when applied to the body, exert an action upon\n it, is so well proven by the experience of many persons, that any one\n who doubts this must be called over-bold. We have proof of this power\n in the carnelian, the hematite, and the jasper, all of which when\n applied, check hemorrhage.... However, it is very necessary to observe\n that many virtues not possessed by gems are falsely ascribed to them.\n\nParacelsus, the gifted and brilliant thinker, scientist, and, we\nmust probably add, charlatan of the sixteenth century, whose really\nextraordinary mental endowment was largely wasted in the effort to\nimpress his followers with the idea that he had a mystic control over\nsupernatural agencies, was the owner of a talismanic jewel which he\nasserted to be the dwelling-place of a powerful spirit named \u201cAzoth.\u201d\nSome old portraits of the philosopher, or pseudo-philosopher, figure\nhim wearing this jewel, in whose virtues we may fairly doubt that he\nhimself believed, but which furnished part of the paraphernalia be\nfreely employed to gain influence over the credulous.[4]\n\nThe following passage from the \u201cFaithful Lapidary\u201d of Thomas Nicols,[5]\nwho wrote in the middle of the seventeenth century, illustrates the\nprevailing opinion in England at that time as to the virtues of\nprecious stones:\n\n _Perfectionem effect\u00fbs contineri in causa._ But it cannot truly be\n so spoken of gemms and precious stones, the effects of which, by\n Lapidists are said to be, the making of men rich and eloquent, to\n preserve men from thunder and lightning, from plagues and diseases, to\n move dreams, to procure sleep, to foretell things to come, to make men\n wise, to strengthen memory, to procure honours, to hinder fascinations\n and witchcrafts, to hinder slothfulness, to put courage into men, to\n keep men chaste, to increase friendship, to hinder difference and\n dissention, and to make men invisible, as is feigned by the Poet\n concerning Gyges ring, and affirmed by Albertus and others concerning\n the _ophthalmius lapis_, and many other strange things are affirmed\n of them and ascribed to them, which are contrary to the nature of\n gemms, and which they as they are materiall, mixt, inanimate bodies\n neither know nor can effect, by the properties and faculties of their\n own constitutions: because they being naturall causes, can produce\n none other but naturall effects, such as are all the ordinary effects\n of gemms: that is, such effects as flow from their elementary matter,\n from their temper, form and essence; such as are the operations of\n hot and cold, and of all the first qualities, and all such accidents\n as do arise from the commixtion of the first qualities: such as are\n hardnesse, heavinesse, thicknesse, colour, and tast. These all are the\n naturall faculties of gemms, and these are the known effects of the\n union of their matter, and of the operation of the first qualities one\n upon another.\n\nThe long-continued concentration of vision on an object tends to\nproduce a partial paralysis of certain functions of the brain. This\neffect may be noted in the helplessness of a bird when its gaze is\nfixed upon the glittering eyes of a serpent, or in the unwilling\nobedience yielded by a lion or some other wild animal when forced to\nlook into the intent eyes of its trainer. In the same way those who\ngaze for a long time and without interruption on a crystal or glass\nball, on an opal, a moonstone, a sapphire, or a cat\u2019s-eye, may become\npartially hypnotized or even fall into a profound sleep. The condition\ninduced, whether it be that of semi-trance, of hypnotism, or simply\ndue to the imaginative workings of the brain, is believed to give an\ninsight into the future. This hypnotic effect is probably caused by\nsome gleam or point of light in the stone, attracting and fixing the\nbeholder\u2019s gaze. The moonstone, the star sapphire, and the cat\u2019s-eye\nare all gems which possess a moving light, a moving line, or three\ncrossed lines, and they are believed by the Orientals to be gems of\ngood luck. Indeed, it is supposed in the East that a living spirit\ndwells within these stones, a spirit potent for good.\n\nSuperstitious fancies bear the same relation to truth that the shadow\nof a form does to the form itself. We know that the shadow has no\nsubstantial existence, and yet we know equally well that it is cast by\nsome real body; in the same way we may be sure that, however foolish\na superstition may appear to be, it has some foundation in fact.\nIndeed, superstition is associated with the highest attribute of the\nhuman mind,\u2014imagination. The realities about us gain much of their\ncharm from sentiment, and all that is great in art and literature\nowes its being to the transforming energy of pure imagination. Morbid\nimagination, on the other hand, distorts and degrades the impressions\nit receives and produces only unlovely or ignoble forms and ideas.\n\nSentiment may best be expressed as the feeling of one who, on a\nwarm summer\u2019s day, is rowing along a shady brook or resting in some\nsylvan dell, with nothing to interfere with his tranquil mood and\nnothing to spur him on to action; thus he has only suggestions of\nhope and indulges in rosy views of life. Reality, on the other hand,\nmay be likened to a crisp winter\u2019s morning when one is filled with\nexhilaration, conscious of the tingle of the cold, but comfortable in\nthe knowledge of wearing a tightly-buttoned garment which will afford\nprotection should the elements become disturbing. Superstition, lastly,\ncan be said to resemble a dark, cold, misty night, when the moon is\nthrowing malevolent shadows which are weird and distorted, while the\ncold seems to seize one by the throat and arouse a passionate desire\nto free one\u2019s self from its grip in some way, to change a horrible\nnightmare into a pleasant dream.\n\nIn the early part of the last century a series of very interesting\nexperiments designed to demonstrate the effects produced upon a\nsensitive subject by the touch of precious stones and minerals, were\nmade in the case of the \u201cSeeress of Prevorst,\u201d Frederike Hauffe (b.\n1801), a woman believed to possess remarkable clairvoyant powers.[6]\nWhen pieces of granite, porphyry, or flint were placed in her hand,\nshe was not affected in any way. The finest qualities of fluorspar,\non the other hand, had a marked action, relaxing the muscles, causing\ndiarrh\u0153a, and producing a sour taste in the mouth; occasionally a\nsomnambulistic state was induced. This latter condition was also\nproduced by Iceland spar and by the sapphire. While the substances so\nfar noted depressed the vital energy, sulphate of barium stimulated the\nmuscles, produced an agreeable warmth of the body, and made the subject\nfeel as though she could fly through the air. If the application of\nthis material was long continued, the pleasurable sensation found\nexpression in laughter. In the case of witherite, a carbonate of\nbarium, this effect was produced to an even greater degree, for if\nwater in which this mineral had been dipped were swallowed, spasms of\nlaughter resulted.\n\nRock-crystal also was found to possess a strongly stimulating\ninfluence, for if put in the hand, it aroused the subject from a\nhalf-slumber, and if placed on the pit of the stomach, it had the\npower to awaken the seeress from a somnambulistic trance, while at\nthe same time an aromatic odor was diffused around. When, however,\nthe application was continued for some time, the muscles stiffened,\nuntil finally an epileptic state ensued. Indeed, the rigidity produced\nwas so great that the limbs resisted all attempts to bend them. The\nsame effect, but in a much less degree, was caused by glass, even by\nlooking at it, or by the tones emitted by a glass object when struck.\nAll colorless silicates, the diamond, and even gypsum, had a similar\neffect, as did also heliotrope and basalt, either of which caused a\nbitter taste in the mouth.\n\nThe most powerful action was that exerted by hematite, the oxide\nof iron in this substance inducing a kind of paralysis, with a\nsensation of inner chill; this condition could only be relieved by\nthe application of a piece of witherite. Octahedrons of magnetite\n(loadstone) caused a sensation of heaviness and convulsive movements\nof the limbs, even when the material, wrapped up in paper, was brought\nnear the subject. Spinel, in whose composition oxide of chromium\nenters, caused the same symptoms as loadstone, except that in this\ncase the force seemed to exert itself from the hand upward along the\narm, while with the loadstone the action was downward along the arm\nto the hand, owing to the attractive quality of this magnetic iron.\nRuby called forth a sensation of coldness in the tongue, and rendered\nthis member so heavy that only incoherent sounds could be emitted;\nthe fingers and toes also became cold, and the body was agitated by\na violent shivering; but to all these bad symptoms succeeded a sense\nof elasticity and well-being, not, however, without a vague fear that\nthe stone might cause a renewal of the physical depression. When\nchrysoprase was used, chills and shivering resulted, beginning at the\nbreast and spreading thence over the whole body.\n\n[Illustration: ROCK-CRYSTAL AMULET SET IN SILVER.\n\nBohemian, tenth century. Field Museum of Natural History.]\n\n[Illustration: ROCK-CRYSTAL PLACQUE, ANCIENT MEXICAN.\n\nField Museum Collection, Chicago.]\n\nWe have touched upon the hypnotic influence exercised by gems, but\nthere can be no doubt that the subject has not been as carefully\nstudied as it deserves to be. That the hypnotic state can be induced\nby gazing fixedly upon a bright object held just above the eyes is a\nwell-known fact, but quite probably a similar though not so pronounced\neffect results from gazing on a bright object just before the gazer\u2019s\neyes. In the case of colored precious stones, the effects of the\nvarious color-rays combine with the light effects and strengthen\nthe impression upon the optic nerve. All this, however, concerns\nonly the purely physical impression, but we know that very often the\nhypnotic state is produced by a mental impression, by the belief,\nor the fear, that the state will supervene. With precious stones as\nhypnotizing agents, the mental impression is widely different, for\nhere the physical impression is heightened by the consciousness of the\nvalue and rarity of the material. The fascination that a fine set of\njewels, with all their sparkle and color, exercises upon the mind of a\nwoman who sees them in their glorious radiance on the neck, the arms,\nand the head of another woman, is not only due to the beauty of the\nspectacle, but is largely owing to the consciousness that they are rare\nand valuable objects and are perhaps eloquent witnesses of the power\nof love. A dash of envy sometimes serves to render the emotion more\ncomplex.\n\nThe names of precious stones and semi-precious stones are frequently\nused as adjectives, and when so employed convey something more to the\nmind than do the corresponding adjectives of color. We may instance\nthe following expressions: the \u201cEmerald Isle\u201d and \u201cemerald meadows\u201d;\n\u201csapphire seas\u201d and \u201csapphire eyes\u201d; \u201cruby wine,\u201d \u201cruby lips,\u201d and,\nin Shakespeare, \u201cthe natural ruby of your cheeks\u201d; \u201ccoral lips\u201d and\n\u201ccoral ears\u201d; \u201cpearly teeth\u201d and \u201cpearly skin\u201d; \u201cturquoise skies\u201d;\n\u201camethystine locks\u201d and, in Roman times, \u201camber hair.\u201d In all these\ncases the name of the precious mineral is really used as a superlative\nof the adjective, suggesting the choicest variety of the color or\nshade. The phrases \u201chard as adamant\u201d and \u201cclear as crystal\u201d show a\nsimilar use of the name of a precious or ornamental stone to express\nthe highest grade of a given quality.\n\nBefore the introduction of the \u201cpoint\u201d system in typography three of\nthe grades of type bore the names of precious stones,\u2014namely, \u201cdiamond\ntype,\u201d \u201cagate type,\u201d and \u201cemerald type\u201d; this latter designation is\nemployed only in England, where \u201cagate type\u201d is called \u201cruby type.\u201d\nAnother size was denominated \u201cpearl type.\u201d\n\nA fanciful tale written not long ago treats of the practical\ninconveniences which would result, could such metaphorical expressions\nfind a realization in fact.[7] At the birth-feast of a certain\nprincess, one of the fairies was not invited; she, nevertheless, made\nher appearance. After the other fairies had endowed the child with many\ngood qualities, the neglected fairy said, \u201cI will give her vanity,\nand her vanity shall change her beauty to the things it is said to\nresemble.\u201d However, a friendly fairy came to the rescue, saying, \u201cI\nwill give her unselfishness, and by it she shall turn her beauty back\nto what she wishes it to be.\u201d\n\nThe result can easily be imagined. As the little princess grew up,\nthose who wished to flatter her vanity spoke of her \u201cteeth of pearl,\u201d\nof her \u201cgolden hair,\u201d of her \u201ccoral lips,\u201d and of her \u201csapphire eyes.\u201d\nUpon this her teeth changed to pearls, her hair to spun gold, her\nlips to coral, and her eyes to two magnificent sapphires. However,\nbeautiful as these were, they did not grant the power of sight, so that\nthe unhappy princess became blind. Not long after this a revolution\ndeprived the king and queen of their throne and they were reduced to\ngreat poverty. In these straits the daughter sacrificed her \u201cgold-hair\u201d\nto relieve their wants, and immediately the spell was dissolved and she\nregained all her natural beauty.\n\nShelley, who saw the world illumined by the rainbow hues of poetic\nfancy, wrote of \u201cdiamond eyes,\u201d \u201can emerald sky,\u201d \u201cthe emerald heaven\nof trees,\u201d \u201cthe sapphire ocean,\u201d \u201csapphire-tinted skies,\u201d \u201cthe sapphire\nfloods of interstellar air,\u201d and \u201cthe chrysolite of sunrise.\u201d For some\nreason, he does not use the ruby, a favorite stone with many poets, and\npsychologists might find in this a proof that red appeals less strongly\nto the idealist than do the other colors.\n\nThe principal literary sources for the talismanic and therapeutic\nvirtues attributed to ornamental stones may be divided into several\ngroups, at first more or less independent of each other, but combined\nto a greater or lesser extent by later writers. Pliny gives, sometimes\nrather grudgingly, a number of superstitions current in his time, but\nthe Alexandrian literature of the second, third, and fourth Christian\ncenturies provides a much richer field for these superstitions, as\nshown in the Orphic poem \u201cLithica,\u201d the \u201cCyrianides,\u201d attributed to\nHermes Trismegistus, the little treatise \u201cOn Rivers,\u201d which bore the\nname of Plutarch, and last, but not least, in the work by Damigeron,\nwhich purported to be written by an Arab king named Evax, and sent\nby him to Tiberius or Nero. The influence exerted by the legends\nsurrounding the stones of the high priest\u2019s breastplate, and those\nchosen as foundation stones for the New Jerusalem, will be treated of\nelsewhere.\n\nIn the seventh, eighth, and ninth centuries, a new literature on this\nsubject made its appearance, probably in Asia Minor. Some of the works\nwere originally written in Syriac and later translated into Arabic.\nOthers were composed in the latter language. This source was drawn\nupon for the production of the Lapidarium of Alfonso X, of Castile.\nThis compilation, although dating in its present Spanish form from the\nthirteenth century, is based upon a much older original in \u201cChaldee\u201d\n(Syriac?). There can be little doubt that many Hindu superstitions,\nno longer preserved for us in the literature of India, are reproduced\nin these Syrio-Arabic works, wherein we have also much that is of\nAlexandrian origin. This indeed is easily explained by history, for the\nArabs, through their widely extended conquests, were led to absorb and\namalgamate the data they secured, directly or indirectly, from the East\nand the West.\n\nWhile this literature was developing in the Mohammedan world, the\ntradition of Pliny and Solinus was transmitted to the Christian world\nof the seventh and succeeding centuries by Isidorus of Seville. This\nbrings us to the remarkable poetical treatise on the virtues of\nprecious stones by Marbodus, Bishop of Rennes, a work written at\nthe end of the eleventh century, and often quoted as that of Evax;\nindeed, it purports to be by him and really contains a good part of the\nmaterial composing the treatise of Damigeron or Evax. At the same time\nMarbodus drew freely upon Pliny, either directly or through Isidorus.\nFor the Middle Ages this poem of Marbodus, already translated into Old\nFrench in the twelfth century, became known as the \u201cLapidario\u201d _par\nexcellence_, and furnished a great part of their material to medieval\nauthors on this subject. Soon, however, extracts from the Arabic\nsources became available, and the whole mass of heterogeneous material\nwas worked over and recombined in a variety of ways.\n\n[Illustration: Title page of the first edition of the poetical treatise\non precious stones by Marbodus, Bishop of Rennes, printed in Friburg,\n1531.]\n\nThis complex origin of the traditions explains their almost\nincomprehensible contradictions regarding the virtues assigned to\nthe different stones, and also the fact that the qualities of one\nstone are frequently attributed to another one, so that, in the\nlater works on this subject, it becomes quite impossible to present\na satisfactory view of the distinguishing qualities and virtues of\nthe separate stones. The habit of copying, without discrimination or\ncriticism, whatever came to hand, and the aim to utilize as much of\nthe borrowed material as possible, is scarcely less a characteristic\nof the seventeenth and eighteenth century writers than it is of those\nof a later date. This is in part an excusable and even an unavoidable\ndefect, but it should be minimized as much as possible.\n\n[Illustration: Title page of the first edition of the Greek treatise by\nSt. Epiphanius on the Gems of the Breastplate, with a Latin version.\nEdited and issued at Z\u00fcrich in 1566 (1565) by Conrad Gesner.]\n\nThe treatise known under the title \u201cCyrianides\u201d was, as we have noted,\na product of the Alexandrian school. It was asserted to be the work\nof Hermes Trismegistus, the name given by the Greeks to the Egyptian\ngod Thoth. Here we have a specimen of the species of magic known as\nlitteromancy, or divination by means of the letters of the alphabet,\nsince a stone, a bird, a plant, and a fish, each beginning with the\nsame letter and signifying the four elements, are given for each of the\ntwenty-four letters of the Greek alphabet. These four objects were to\nbe grouped together to form a talisman, the bird being usually engraved\non the stone, while a portion of the fish and of the plant was placed\nin the bezel of the ring in which the stone was to be set.[8] Another,\nalmost contemporary work, is the exceedingly curious and interesting\ntreatise by St. Epiphanius, Bishop of Constantia, on the twelve gems\non the \u201cBreastplate of Judgment\u201d of the high priest (Ex., xxviii,\n15-21). This unique production is in the form of a letter addressed\nto Diodorus, Bishop of Tyre, and it is peculiarly valuable as the\nfirst of a long series of attempts to elucidate the question as to the\nidentity of the twelve stones. The special virtues of each stone are\nalso given, and this treatise may be regarded as the prototype of all\nthe Christian writings on the symbolism of stones.\n\nA most interesting medieval treatise on the virtues of precious stones\nforms part of the _De rerum natura_ of Thomas de Cantimpr\u00e9 (1201-1270),\nwho was a pupil of Albertus Magnus and composed his work between 1230\nand 1244. The Latin text has never been printed, but the book was\ntranslated into German by Konrad von Megenberg about 1350. Strange to\nsay, the translator did not know the name of the writer and supposed\nwhen he began to translate the book that it was by Albertus Magnus. In\nmany cases Thomas de Cantimpr\u00e9 merely copies the statements of older\nauthors, but occasionally he gives us new material, or at least a new\nversion of his originals.\n\n[Illustration: Title page of one of the earliest treatises on precious\nstones published in England.]\n\nThe renowned medieval philosopher and theologian, Albertus Magnus\n(1193-1280), for a short time Bishop of Ratisbon, and who later taught\ntheology in the University of Paris and had the great St. Thomas\nAquinas for a pupil, was not altogether free from the superstitious\nnotions of his time, traces of which appear in certain of his\nnumerous writings. Many years after his death some of this material\nwas extracted from his works and, amplified by additions from other\nsources, was published under the title \u201cSecrets des vertus des Herbes,\nPierres et Bestes.\u201d Of this there are two versions, one being an\nepitome of the other and termed respectively \u201cLe Grand Albert\u201d and\n\u201cLe Petit Albert.\u201d These little books were often reprinted and widely\ncirculated, and eventually enjoyed great popularity among the French\npeasants. Indeed, even to the present day they may still be met with in\nout-of-the-way parts of rural France.\n\nAmong literary deceptions one of the boldest was that practised in the\nearly part of the seventeenth century by Ludovico Dolce. This writer\nmade, in 1565, a literal translation into Italian of the \u201cSpeculum\nlapidum\u201d of Camillo Leonardo, printed in Venice in 1502, and he had the\ncourage to issue it as his own work, under the title \u201cTrattato delle\ngemme ch\u00e8 produce la natura.\u201d In view of the general familiarity with\nLatin among the better classes at that period, and the numerous fine\nlibraries existing in Venice at the time, it seems most extraordinary\nthat Dolce should have been successful in palming off this work as his\nown, but even to-day citations are made from Dolce\u2019s \u201cTrattato delle\ngemme\u201d and from Leonardo\u2019s \u201cSpeculum lapidum,\u201d as though these were\ndistinct works.\n\n\n\n\nII\n\nOn the Use of Precious and Semi-Precious Stones as Talismans and Amulets\n\n\nThe use of precious stones in early times as amulets and talismans\nis shown in many ancient records, and several scholars have assumed\nthat the belief in the magic efficacy of stones gave rise to their use\nas objects of personal adornment. It is, of course, very difficult\neither to prove or to disprove such a theory, for, even in the case of\nthe oldest texts, we must bear in mind that they do not in the least\nrepresent primitive conditions, and that many thousands of years must\nhave elapsed before a people could attain the grade of civilization\nnecessary for the production of even the simplest literature. For this\nreason, certain investigators have preferred to seek for a solution of\nthis problem in the customs and habits of the so-called uncivilized\npeoples of our own time; but we must not forget that conditions which\nseem to us very rudimentary are, nevertheless, the result of a long\nprocess of development. Even if this development was arrested many\ncenturies or millenniums ago, it must have required a very considerable\nperiod of time to evolve such usages and conventions as are found even\namong the lowest races. Indeed, many uncivilized peoples have very\ncomplicated rules and observances, testifying to considerable thought\nand reflection.\n\nFetichism in all its forms depends upon an imperfect conception of\nwhat constitutes life and conscious being, so that will and thought\nare attributed to inanimate objects. We can observe this in the case\nof animals and very young children, who regard any moving object as\nendowed with life. In the case of stones, however, it seems probable\nthat those supposed to be the abode of spirits, good or evil, were\nselected because their natural form suggested that of some animal or\nof some portion of the human body. On the other hand, the wearing of\nwhat we call precious stones is more likely to have been due to the\nattraction exercised by bright colors upon the eye of the beholder and\nto the desire to display some distinguishing mark that would command\nattention and admiration for the wearer. This tendency runs through the\nhigher animal kingdom, and its workings have served as a foundation for\nthe theory of natural selection.\n\nIt seems likely that we have here the true explanation of the motive\nfor the gathering, preserving, and wearing of precious stones. Since\nthese objects are motionless, they can scarcely have impressed the mind\nof primitive man with the idea that they were alive; they were not\nimposing by their mass, as were large stones, and their crystalline\nform scarcely figured any known living shape. Hence their chief, we\nmay even say their only attraction was their color and brilliancy.\nWhat effect these qualities had upon the visual sense of primitive\nman may be safely inferred from the effect such objects produce upon\ninfants. The baby has no fear in regard to a small and brilliantly\ncolored object which is shown to it, but will eagerly put out its hand\nto seize, hold, and gaze upon a bright-colored stone. As the object\nis quite passive and easily handled, there is nothing to suggest any\nlurking power to harm, and therefore there is nothing to interfere with\nthe pleasurable sensation aroused in the optic nerve by the play of\ncolor. In this na\u00efve admiration of what is brilliant and colored, the\ninfant undoubtedly represents for us the mental attitude of primitive\nman.\n\n[Illustration: 1. Necklace of rock-crystal and amethyst beads,\ntransparent and translucent; very pale; from Egypt. First century.\n\n2. Necklace of antique emeralds with gold beads and amazon stones; from\nEgypt. First century A.D.]\n\nProbably the first objects chosen for personal adornment were those\neasily strung or bound together,\u2014for instance, certain perforated\nshells and brilliant seeds; the softer stones, wherein holes could be\neasily bored by the help of the simplest tools, probably came next,\nwhile the harder gems must have been hoarded as pretty toys long before\nthey could be adjusted for use as ornaments.\n\nUnquestionably, when these objects had once been worn, there was\na disposition to attribute certain happenings to their influence\nand power, and in this way there arose a belief in their efficacy,\nand, finally, the conviction that they were the abodes of powerful\nspirits. In this, as in many other things, man\u2019s first and instinctive\nappreciation was the truest, and it has required centuries of\nenlightenment to bring us back to this love of precious stones for\ntheir esthetic beauty alone. Indeed, even to-day, we can see the power\nof superstitious belief in the case of the opal, which some timid\npeople still fear to wear, although until three or four centuries\nago this stone was thought to combine all the virtues of the various\ncolored gems, the hues of which are united in its sparkling light.\n\nA proof that bright and colored objects were attractive in themselves,\nand were first gathered up and preserved by primitive man for this\nreason alone, may be found in the fact that certain birds, notable the\n_Chlamydera_ of Australia, related to our ravens, after constructing\nfor themselves pretty arbors, strew the floors with variegated pebbles,\nso arranged as to suggest a mosaic pavement. At the entrance of the\narbors are heaped up pieces of bone, shells, feathers, and stones,\nwhich have often been brought from a considerable distance, this\ngiving evidence that the birds have not selected these objects at\nrandom. It is strange that the attraction exercised upon the sense of\nsight by anything brilliant and colored, which is at the same time\neasily portable and can be handled or worn, should be overlooked by\nthose who are disposed to assert that all ornaments of this kind were\noriginally selected and preserved solely or principally because of\ntheir supposed talismanic qualities.\n\nThe theory that colored and brilliant stones were first collected by\nmen because of their beauty rather than because of their talismanic\nvirtues, is corroborated by the statement made that seals select with\nconsiderable care the stones they swallow, and observers on the fishing\ngrounds have noted this and believe that pebbles of chalcedony and\nserpentine found there have been brought by the seals.[9]\n\nThe popular derivation of the word \u201camulet\u201d from an Arabic word\n_hamal\u00e2t_, signifying something suspended or worn, is not accepted by\nthe best Arabic scholars, and it seems probable that the name is of\nLatin origin, in spite of the fact that no very satisfactory etymology\ncan be given. Pliny\u2019s use of _amuletum_ shows that with him the word\ndid not always denote an object that was worn on the person, although\nthis later became its meaning. The old etymology given by Varro (118-29\nB.C.), who derived _amuletum_ from the verb _amoliri_, \u201cto remove,\u201d\n\u201cto drive away,\u201d may not be quite in accord with modern philology,\nbut still has something to recommend it as far as the sense goes, for\nthe amulet was certainly believed to hold dangers aloof, or even to\nremove them. Talisman, however, a word not used in classical times,\nundoubtedly comes from the Arabic _tilsam_, this being in turn derived\nfrom \u03c4\u03ad\u03bb\u03b5\u03c3\u03bc\u03b1, used in late Greek to signify an initiation, or an\nincantation.\n\nIt has been remarked that in the earliest Stone Age there is no trace\nof either idols or images; the art of this period being entirely\nprofane. In the later Stone Age, however, entirely different ideas\nseem to have gained the ascendancy, for a majority of the objects of\nplastic art so far discovered have a religious significance. This has\nevidently proceeded from the conception that every image of a living\nobject absorbs something of the essence of the object itself, and this\nconception, while a primitive one, still presupposes a certain degree\nof development. This rule applies more especially to amulets, which\nwere therefore fashioned as beautifully as primitive art permitted,\nthat they might become fitting abodes for the benevolent spirits\nbelieved to animate them and render them efficacious.[10]\n\nA curious idol or talisman from Houa\u00eflou, New Caledonia, is in the\ncollection of Signor Giglioli. This is a stone bearing naturally a\nrude resemblance to the human form.[11] We can easily understand\nthat such an object was looked upon as the abode of some spirit, for\nsimilar strange natural formations have been regarded with a species of\nsuperstitious awe by peoples much more civilized than the natives of\nNew Caledonia.\n\nFor the Middle Ages and even down to the seventeenth century, the\ntalismanic virtues of precious stones were believed in by high and low,\nby princes and peasants, by the learned as well as by the ignorant.\nHere and there, however, a note of scepticism was sometimes apparent,\nas in the famous reply of the court jester of Emperor Charles V, to the\nquestion, \u201cWhat is the property of the turquoise?\u201d \u201cWhy,\u201d replied he,\n\u201cif you should happen to fall from a high tower whilst you were wearing\na turquoise on your finger, the turquoise would remain unbroken.\u201d\n\nThe doctrine of sympathy and antipathy found expression in the belief\nthat the very substance of certain stones was liable to modification\nby the condition of health or even by the thoughts of the wearer. In\ncase of sickness or approaching death the lustre of the stones was\ndimmed, or else their bright colors were darkened, and unfaithfulness\nor perjury produced similar phenomena. Concerning the turquoise, the\nprosaic explanation can be offered that this stone is affected to a\ncertain extent by the secretions of the skin; but popular superstition\nsaw the same phenomena in the ruby, the diamond, and other stones\nnot possessing the sensitiveness of the turquoise. Hence the true\nexplanation is to be found in the prevailing idea that an occult\nsympathy existed between stone and wearer. The sentiment underlying the\nconception is well expressed by Emerson in the following lines from\n\u201cThe Amulet\u201d:\n\n    Give me an amulet\n      That keeps intelligence with you,\u2014\n    Red when you love, and rosier red,\n      And when you love not, pale and blue.\n\nA Persian legend of the origin of diamonds and precious stones shows\nthat in the East these beautiful objects were looked upon as the source\nof much sin and sorrow. We are told that when God created the world\nhe made no useless things, such as gold, silver, precious stones,\nand diamonds; but Satan, who is always eager to bring evil among\nmen, kept a close watch to spy out the appetites and passions of the\nhuman mind. To his great satisfaction he noted that Eve passionately\nloved the many-colored flowers that decked the Garden of Eden; he\ntherefore undertook to imitate their brightness and color out of\nearth, and in this way were produced colored precious stones and\ndiamonds. These in after time so strongly appealed to the greed and\ncovetousness of mankind that they have been the cause of much crime and\nwretchedness.[12]\n\nThe present age could afford us nearly as many examples of faith in\ntalismans and amulets as any epoch in the past, if people were willing\nto confess their real beliefs. However, they are half-ashamed of their\nfondness for such objects, and fail to see that, back of all the\nfolly and superstition that may find expression in this way, there\nis a deeper meaning in these talismans than we at first perceive. We\nmay be disposed to smile when we are told that many of the soldiers\nin the Austro-Prussian War of 1866 carried amulets of some kind upon\ntheir persons, and that the great Marshal Canrobert trusted to the\nprotection of an amulet in the Crimean campaign. Of course the Russian\narmy, during the Russo-Japanese War, was amply provided with amulets,\nreligious medals or pictures to which a special virtue had been given\nby a priestly blessing.\n\nIn all these cases, however, it is not the object itself, but the idea\nfor which it stands and which it incorporates, that gives confidence\nto the wearer, and in this sense the wearing of a talisman is no more\na proof of blind superstition than is the devotion to a flag, in\nitself only a few square feet of silk or bunting, but, nevertheless,\nthe symbol of the noblest ideas and feelings, of patriotic devotion\nto one\u2019s native land and to one\u2019s fellow-countrymen. The tendency\nto give a substantial visible form to an abstract idea is so deeply\nrooted in humanity that it must be looked upon as responding to a human\nnecessity. It is only very rarely that purely intellectual conceptions\ncan satisfy us; they must be given some external, palpable and visible\nform to exert their greater influences.\n\nAlthough it may bear a certain superficial likeness to fetichism, this\nuse of signs and symbols is something entirely and radically different,\nfor the idea is never lost sight of, it is only strengthened and\nvivified by the contemplation of the symbol. Hence, while we know quite\nwell that the symbol is nothing in itself, we know just as well that it\nhas a real power in its relation to the idea it typifies, and we can\nno more be indifferent to its injury or destruction than we could be\nindifferent to the injury or destruction of a cherished memento of one\nwhom we have loved and lost.\n\nWhat super-subtle sense is it that enables some women to endow their\ngems with a certain individuality, and leads them to feel that these\ncold, inanimate objects partake of human emotion? A French writer, Mme.\nCatulle Mend\u00e8s, gives expression to this when she says that she always\nwears as many of her rings as possible, because her gems feel slighted\nwhen she leaves them unworn. She continues:\n\n I have a ruby which grows dull, two turquoises which become pale as\n death, aquamarines which look like siren\u2019s eyes filled with tears,\n when I forget them too long. How sad I should feel if precious stones\n did not love to rest upon me!\n\n[Illustration: MOSAICS OF TURQUOISE AND ENAMELLED CARNELIAN BEADS, FROM\nTHIBET.\n\nField Museum, Chicago.]\n\nA very beautiful and curious object was found in the Australian\nopal-fields in 1909. This is a reptilean skeleton resembling a small\nserpent that has become opalized by natural processes. Perfect in all\nits details, which are rendered more striking by the splendid play of\ncolor, this specimen of Nature\u2019s handiwork possesses a beauty and an\ninterest exceeding those to be found in any work of man. As an amulet\nit certainly is _sui generis_, and in ancient times would have been\nvalued at an immense sum, for the figure of a serpent was a favorite\nsymbol of medical science; even to-day there is little doubt that this\nstrange object will be eagerly sought for by collectors, and will\nappeal more especially to all who are interested in occult science, and\nto all who appreciate the poetic and perhaps mystic significance of\nform, sign, and symbol.\n\nIt is impossible to over-estimate the effect of color in determining\nthe supposed influence of gems upon the fortunes or health of the\nwearers. When we gaze upon the beautiful play of light emitted by a\nfine ruby or sapphire, we are all conscious of the \u00e6sthetic effect\nproduced; but in earlier times, when scientific ideas were not yet\nprevalent, many other considerations combined to give a peculiar\nsignificance to these brilliant gems. Rare and costly as they were,\nthey were supposed to possess mystic and occult powers and were\nthought to be the abode of spirits, sometimes benevolent and sometimes\nmalevolent, but always endowed with the power to influence human\ndestinies for weal or woe. Coupled with this was the instinctive\nappreciation of the essential qualities of certain rays of light,\nand modern science, far from doing away with these ideas, has rather\nseemed to find a good reason for them. We all know the therapeutic\nvalue of the ultra-violet rays, and when the uninstructed mind saw\ntherein the embodiment of purity and chastity, it perhaps realized\nthis health-giving and beneficent function. In the same way the idea\nof passion was associated with the red and radiant ruby, another\nconcept the relative truth of which has been demonstrated by spectrum\nanalysis, since the red rays are heat-giving and vivifying. But this\nwas not the only source of these primitive ideas in regard to color;\nthe therapeutic effect was often sought and found in some fancied\nanalogy between the color of the gem and the character of the malady\nor infirmity to be cured. Thus, yellow stones were supposed to be\nespecially efficacious in cases of jaundice, an instance of instinctive\nhom\u0153opathy, based on the dictum _similia similibus curantur_. Following\nout this train of thought, the red stones were endowed with the power\nof checking the flow of blood; especially the so-called bloodstone was\nprescribed for this use, and it was supposed that by its mere touch\nit could stop the most violent hemorrhages. Green was regarded as the\ncolor most beneficial for the sight, and to the emerald and other\ngreen stones was ascribed great curative power in this respect. Here,\nhowever, the simple influence of the color was later combined with its\nsymbolical significance. In heathen mythology this showed itself in the\nascription of the emerald to Venus, as the exponent of the reproductive\nenergies of nature, while in the Christian conception these stones\nbecame typical of the resurrection, of the birth into a new and purer\nlife. Nowhere can we find a better illustration of the transforming\neffect of distinct and diametrically opposite concepts upon the\nimpressions made by natural objects. The pure and colorless and yet\nbrilliant stones, such as the diamond and all other white stones, were\nnaturally brought into connection with the moon, although the diamond,\nbecause of its superior qualities and exceptional brilliance and value,\nwas frequently looked upon as the gem of the sun. All gems associated\nwith the moon partook of its enigmatic character. Illuminating the\nwitching hour of the night, when malevolent and treacherous spirits\nwere supposed to hold sway, the moon was sometimes regarded as baleful,\nas may be seen in the idea that associated lunacy with exposure to the\nbright rays of the moon; at other times it was supposed to have the\npower to conjure these evil influences and to drive off the powers of\ndarkness.\n\nThe symbolical significance of the colors of precious stones is treated\nat considerable length by Giacinto Gimma,[13] who has gathered together\na great quantity of material on the subject.\n\nYellow worn by a man denoted secrecy, and was appropriate for the\nsilent lover; worn by a woman it indicated generosity. Golden yellow\nwas, of course, the symbol of the sun and of Sunday. The precious stone\nwas the chrysolite or the yellow jacinth. The animal connected with the\ncolor was the lion, doubtless, from the association of the zodiacal\nsign Leo with the midsummer sun. Of the seven ages of man yellow\ntypified adolescence. Roman matrons covered their heads with a yellow\nveil to show their hope of offspring and happiness. Because garments of\nthis color were a sign of grandeur and nobility, a golden vestment is\nassigned to the Queen of Heaven as a sign of her pre-eminence, as we\nread in Psalm xlv, 9: \u201cUpon thy right hand did stand the queen in gold\nof Ophir.\u201d Gimma\u2019s explanation of this as referring to the Virgin Mary\nis in accord with the Catholic exegesis of his time.\n\nWhite signified for men friendship, religion, integrity; for women,\ncontemplation, affability, and purity. It was associated with the moon\nand with Monday and was represented by the pearl. The animal having an\naffinity with white was quite naturally the ermine. The mystic number\nwas seven, and white was the color of infancy. Among the ancients white\nwas a sign of mourning and sadness, and the Greek matrons attired\nthemselves in white on the death of their husbands. Gimma states that\nin his time, in Rome, widows used to wear white as mourning for their\nhusbands, while throughout Italy a white band worn around the head was\na sign of widowhood.\n\nRed garments on a man indicated command, nobility, lordship, and\nvengeance; on a woman, pride, obstinacy, and haughtiness. This was\nthe color of the planet Mars and of Tuesday; it was represented by\nthe ruby. Why the lynx should have been selected as the animal for\nred is rather difficult to understand, but, as the most vivid color,\nthe choice of red as a type of full manhood need not surprise us. Its\nnumber was the potent nine, three multiplied by itself. The ancients\ncovered with a red cloth the biers of those who had died valiantly\nin battle, as Homer[14] shows when he relates that the brothers and\ncompanions of Hector covered the urn containing the hero\u2019s ashes with\nsoft purple (scarlet) robes. Plutarch asserts that the Lacedemonians\nclothed their soldiers in red to strike terror into the hearts of\ntheir enemies and to manifest a thirst for blood. We might perhaps say\nmuch the same of the English \u201cred-coats\u201d to-day. The Italian code of\ncriminal laws known as the \u201cDigesto Nuovo\u201d was bound in red, to signify\nthat a bloody death awaited thieves and murderers.\n\nBlue on a man\u2019s dress indicated wisdom and high and magnanimous\nthoughts; on a woman\u2019s dress, jealousy in love, politeness, and\nvigilance. Friday and Venus were represented by blue, and the\ncelestial-hued sapphire was the stone in which this color appeared in\nall its beauty. Blue was a fit symbol of the age of childhood, but\nit is less easy to understand the choice of the goat as the animal\nassociated with the color. The significant number was six. Natural\nscience, the contemplation of the heavens and of the heavenly bodies,\nand the study of stellar influences were all typified by blue.\n\nGreen signified for men joyousness, transitory hope, and the decline\nof friendship; for women, unfounded ambition, childish delight, and\nchange. The early verdure of spring might be regarded as at once a\nsymbol of hope and of eventual disappointment, for it must soon pass\naway. Mercury, and Wednesday, the day of Mercury, were both typified by\ngreen, the sly fox being selected as the animal is sympathy with the\nwily god. The typical green stone is the emerald, youth is the age of\nman represented by the color, and five the magic number expressing it.\nIn ancient times green was used in the case of those who died in the\nflower of youth, an emerald being sometimes placed on the index-finger\nof the corpse, as a sign that the light of hope was spent, for the\nlower part of the torches used in religious ceremonies was marked with\ngreen. Fulvius Pellegrinus relates that, in the tomb of Tullia, the\ndearly-beloved daughter of Cicero, there was found an emerald, the most\nbeautiful that had ever been seen. This passed into the hands of the\nMarchesana di Mantova, Isabella Gonzaga da Este. In Italy the graves\nof young virgins and of children were covered with green branches. When\nthe Codex Justinianus was rediscovered and added to the other Pandects,\nit was bound in green to signify that these laws were rejuvenated.\n\nBlack for men means gravity, good sense, constancy, and fortitude;\nfor young women, fickleness and foolishness, but for married women,\nconstant love and perseverance. The planet Saturn and Saturday are\ndenoted by black. Strange to say, the diamond, the white gem _par\nexcellence_, was selected to represent this sombre hue. Perhaps to\noffset this the animal chosen was the hog. As black was a mourning\ncolor, we need not be surprised that it typified decrepitude. The\nnumber eight, the double square, was supposed to have some affinity\nwith black. Black is a symbol of envy, for the thoughts which aim at\nanother\u2019s injury cloud the soul and afflict the body. The book of laws\ntreating of dispositions made in view of death was bound in black. The\nsinister significance of black is well illustrated by what is told of\nthe ruthless Tartar Tamerlane. When he attacked a city, he caused a\nwhite tent to be pitched for himself on the first day of the siege, as\na sign that mercy would be shown to the inhabitants if they immediately\nsurrendered; on the second day a red tent was substituted, signifying\nthat if the city yielded, all the leaders would be put to death; on the\nthird day, however, a black tent was raised, an ominous signal that no\nmercy would be shown and that all the inhabitants would be slaughtered.\n\nViolet for a man denoted sober judgment, industry, and gravity; for a\nwoman, high thoughts and religious love. It was the color of the planet\nJupiter and of Thursday. As with blue, the sapphire was conceived to\npresent violet most attractively. That the bull should be selected\nas the animal represented by this color probably arose from some\nmythological connection with Jupiter, possibly the myth of Europa and\nthe bull. Violet was the color of old age and was associated with the\nnumber three.\n\nThe influence of color upon the nerves has been noted by some of the\nleading authorities on hypnotism. For example, Dr. Paul Ferez, finding\nthat red light is stimulating and blue-violet calming, suggests that\nthose who treat patients by means of hypnotism should have two rooms\nfor their reception. In one of these rooms the curtains, wall-paper,\nchair-coverings, etc., would be red, while in the other they would\nbe of a violet-blue hue. Those suffering from a lack of will-power\nor from lassitude and depression are to be received in the red room,\nand those who are a prey to over-excitability are introduced into the\nblue room. Moreover, according to Dr. Ferez, the sedative qualities of\nthe violet-blue can be utilized in inducing the hypnotic state. For\nthis purpose he recommends a violet-blue disk, which is to be rotated\nrapidly before the eyes of the patient, the movement serving to attract\nand hold his gaze better than any immovable object would do.[15]\n\nRed stones such as rubies, carbuncles, and garnets, whose color\nsuggested that of blood, were not only believed to confer\ninvulnerability from wounds, but some Asiatic tribes have used garnets\nas bullets, upon the contrary principle that this blood-colored stone\nwould inflict a more deadly wound than would a leaden bullet. Such\nbullets were used by the rebellious Hanzas, in 1892, during their\nhostilities with the British troops on the Kashmir frontier, and many\nof these precious missiles were preserved as curiosities.\n\nIn his \u201cColloquy on Pilgrimages,\u201d Erasmus makes one of the speakers\nask, \u201cDost thou not see how the artificer Nature delights to represent\nall things by colors and forms, but more especially in gems?\u201d He then\nproceeds to enumerate the various images of natural objects in stones.\nIn the ceraunia appeared the thunder-bolt; in the pyrope, living\nfire; the chalazia (rock-crystal) preserved the form and coldness of\nthe hailstone even if cast into the fire. In the emerald were shown\nthe deep and translucent waves of the sea; the carcinia imitated the\nform of crabs; the echites, of vipers; the hieracites, of hawks; the\ngeranites, of cranes. The \u00e6tites offered the image of an eagle with\na white tail; the taos had the form of a peacock; the chelonites, of\nan asp; while the myrmecites bore within the figure of an ant.[16]\nThe stones bearing this latter name were probably specimens of amber\ncontaining ants.\n\nThe Greek names of these stones enumerated by Erasmus signify their\nreal or supposed resemblance to certain natural objects, or to\nsomething characteristic of such objects. Many of them were fossils,\npreserving the form of some living organism; a few were entirely\nfabulous; still others owed their names to some legend or myth\nillustrating their fancied therapeutic virtues, as in the case of the\n\u00e6tites (eagle-stone) said to be found in the eagle\u2019s nest. Evidently\nthis was a quartz pebble.\n\nThe oldest magic formulas that have been preserved for us are those of\nthe Sumerians, the founders of the ancient civilization of Babylonia.\nSome of them contain references to the use of precious stones as\namulets, as appears in the following specimen:\n\n    Cords of light-colored wool,\n    Offered (?) with a pure hand,\n    For jaundice of the eye,\n    Bind on the right side (of the patient).\n    A lululti ring, with sparkling stones\n    Brought from his own land,\n    For inflammation of the eye,\n    On the little finger\n    Of his left (hand), place.[17]\n\nA curious Babylonian mythological text represents the solar deity\nNinib, the son of Bel, as determining the fate of various stones by\npronouncing a blessing or a curse upon them. For instance, the dolomite\nwas blessed and declared to be fit material for the statues of kings,\nwhile a substance called the _elu_ stone was cursed, proclaimed to be\nunfit for working, and doomed to disintegration. Alabaster was favored\nby the god, but chalcedony aroused his anger and was condemned.[18]\n\nIn these Sumero-Assyrian inscriptions, there is also mention of two\nstones, the _aban r\u00e2me_ and the _aban la r\u00e2me_, the \u201cStone of Love\u201d\nand the \u201cStone of Hate\u201d (lit. \u201cnon-love\u201d).[19] Evidently these stones\nwere believed to excite one or other of these contradictory passions in\nthe hearts of the wearers, and they may be compared with the stones of\nmemory and forgetfulness in the \u201cGesta Romanorum.\u201d\n\nIn an ancient Egyptian burial-place at Sh\u00each Abd el-Qurna, excavated\nby Passalaqua, was found the mummy of a young woman. Not only was it\nevident from the rich ornaments adorning the body that she had been\nof noble birth, but it was also apparent that she must have been\nexceedingly beautiful in form and feature, and must have died in the\nflower of her age. The hair was artistically braided and adorned with\ntwenty bronze hairpins. About her neck was a remarkably beautiful\nnecklace composed of four rows of beads with numerous pendants\nrepresenting divinities and sacred symbols. There were also two smaller\nnecklaces with beads of gold, lapis-lazuli, and carnelian; two large\njewelled ear-rings hung from her ears, and on the index-finger of\nher right hand was a ring set with a scarab; a gold belt garnished\nwith lapis-lazuli and carnelians was bound about her waist and a gold\nbracelet adorned with semi-precious stones encircled her left wrist.\nIn the sarcophagus was a beautiful mirror of golden-yellow bronze, and\nthree alabaster vases, one still containing some balm or perfume, and\nanother some galena (native lead sulphide) to be used as a cosmetic for\nthe eyes, as well as a little ebony pencil for its application. All\nthese objects are now in the Egyptian collection of the Berlin Museum,\nand they probably belong to the period of the XVIII Dynasty, about 1500\nB.C.\n\n[Illustration: 1. A necklace of rock crystal, emeralds, hexagonal\ncrystals, and amazon stones; from Egypt.\n\n2. A necklace of onyx and gold beads with the \u201cLucky Eye\u201d agates; from\nEgypt. Carnelian, sard; blue and white, and black and white glass\nbeads.]\n\nThe principal necklace was undoubtedly regarded by the fair Egyptian\nas an amulet of great power, but it failed to protect her from an\nuntimely end; perhaps, however, its virtues may have aided her soul in\nits passage through the trials and tests imposed in the underworld. Of\nthe numerous pendants which lent to the necklace its peculiar quality\nas an amulet, three, in carnelian, figure the god Bes; seven, also\nin carnelian, the hippopotamus-goddess Toeris, of whom there are\nbesides two representations in lapis-lazuli; then we have a heart of\nlapis-lazuli; a cat of lapis-lazuli; four falcons of carnelian; one\ncrocodile of carnelian and two of lapis-lazuli; four fish of carnelian,\nas well as two others of a blackish-white and of a green stone,\nrespectively, and two scorpions of carnelian, and seven flower-forms\nof the same stone. The greater part of the beads in this necklace are\nof annular form, of gold, electrum, ivory, or lapis-lazuli; there are\na few larger annular or spherical beads of carnelian, chrysoprase, and\nmalachite, and measuring up to 3.5 cm. in diameter.[20]\n\nA necklace, from the time of the Old Empire (c. 3500 B.C.), and having\nfor its chief adornment a turquoise pendant rudely fashioned into\nthe form of an ibex, was found by the German Orient-Gesellschaft at\nAbus\u00eer el-Meleq in 1905. This necklace, the parts of which were found\nabout the neck of a body, presumably that of a young man, was composed\nof rounded and annular beads of carnelian and shell, as well as of\nflat, perforated fragments of turquoise and almandine garnet and an\napproximately lozenge-shaped bead of amethyst 1.7 cm. long and 1.4 cm.\nbroad. The chief ornament was the turquoise ibex 1.7 cm. in length and\n0.9 cm. high.[21] This figure suggests a comparison with the animal and\nbird forms fashioned out of turquoise that have been found in Indian\ngraves in Arizona and New Mexico, and it probably had the quality of a\nfetich, or at least of a talisman, intended to guard the wearer of the\nnecklace from harm.\n\nThat there was in Egypt a strong inclination to use a certain\nparticular stone for a given amulet, will be noted in the case of those\ninscribed with special chapters of the Book of the Dead. This is also\ntrue of amulets of certain forms. For instance, the head-rest amulet\nis usually of hematite as is also the carpenter\u2019s square. Of the heart\namulets, numbering 47 in the rich collections of the Cairo Museum,\nnine are of carnelian, four of hematite, two of lapis-lazuli, and two\neach of green porphyry and green jasper, carnelian being thus the most\nfavored among the more precious materials. Amulets of animal form are\nplentifully represented in this collection, figuring a large variety\nof members of the animal kingdom such as the hippopotamus, crocodile,\nlion, bull, cow, hare, dog-headed ape, cat, dog (somewhat doubtful),\njackal, hedgehog, frog, hawk, cobra and fishes, to which list may be\nadded a four-headed ram and a ram-headed sphinx.[22]\n\nOne of the special uses of amulets was for seafaring people, for,\nin ancient times especially, all who went down to the sea in ships\nwere greatly in need of protection from the fury of the elements when\nthey embarked in their small sailing-vessels. A fragment of a Greek\nLapidary,[23] probably written in the third or fourth century of our\nera, gives a list of seven amulets peculiarly adapted for this purpose.\nThe number might suggest a connection with the days of the week, and\nthe amulets were perhaps regarded as most efficacious when used on the\nrespective days.\n\nIn the first were set a carbuncle and a chalcedony; this amulet\nprotected sailors from drowning. The second had for its gem either of\ntwo varieties of the adamas,\u2014one, the Macedonian, being likened to\nice (this was probably rock-crystal), while the other, the Indian,\nof a silvery hue, may possibly have been our corundum; however, the\nMacedonian stone was regarded as the better. The third amulet bore the\nberyl, \u201ctransparent, brilliant, and of a sea-green hue,\u201d evidently the\naquamarine beryl; this banished fear. The fourth had for its gem the\n_druops_, \u201cwhite in the centre,\u201d probably the variety of agate so much\nfavored as a protector against the spell of the Evil Eye. A coral was\nplaced in the fifth amulet, and this was to be attached to the prow of\nthe ship with strips of seal-skin; it guarded the vessel from winds and\nwaves in all waters. For the sixth amulet the _ophiokiolus_ stone was\nselected, most probably a kind of banded agate, for it is said to have\nbeen girdled with stripes like the body of a snake; whoever wore this\nhad no need to fear the surging ocean. The seventh and last of these\nnautical amulets bore a stone called _opsianos_, apparently a resinous\nor bituminous material, possibly a kind of jet; this came from Phrygia\nand Galatia, and the amulet wherein it was set was a great protection\nfor all who journeyed by sea or by river.\n\nThe ancient treatises on the magic art show that the use of amulets\nwas considered to be indispensable for those who dared to evoke the\ndark spirits of the nether-world, for without the protection afforded\nby his amulet the magician ran the risk of being attacked by these\nspirits. One of these texts gives directions for preparing an amulet,\nor _phylacterion_, for the \u201cundertaking\u201d; for this a \u201csweet-smelling\u201d\nloadstone should be chosen, and should be cut heart-shaped and engraved\nwith the figure of Hecate.[24]\n\nA costly Chinese amulet consists of the diamond, the ruby, and the\nemerald, to which are added the pearl and coral; Oriental sapphire\nand topaz are classed with the ruby. An amulet containing these five\nsubstances is thought to combine the protecting influences of the\ndifferent deities presiding over them, and is supposed to lengthen the\nwearer\u2019s life. Sometimes these five princely gems are wrapped up in a\npaper bearing the names of the respective divinities, to which is added\nthe name of the moon, and those of the twenty-seven constellations,\nor houses of the moon. Such an amulet, suspended at the entrance of a\nhouse, is believed to afford protection to the inmates.[25]\n\nIn the language of the ancient Mexicans blood was called\n_chalchiuhatl_, or \u201cwater of precious stones,\u201d as the quintessence\nof what were regarded as the most costly things.[26] Although such\npoetic designations are in modern times mere figures of speech, among\nprimitive peoples they are more significant, and it is highly probable\nthat with the Aztecs, as with other peoples, the wearing of precious\nstones was believed to enrich the blood and thus to promote health and\nvigor, for \u201cthe blood is the life.\u201d\n\nThat gems had sex is asserted by the earliest writers as well as by\nmany of those of a later date. While this must usually be understood as\na poetic way of indicating a difference in shade, the darker varieties\nbeing regarded as male and the lighter ones as female, Theophrastus,\nthe earliest Greek writer on precious stones, clearly shows that this\nsexual distinction was sometimes seriously made, for he declares that,\nwonderful as it might seem, certain gems were capable of producing\noffspring.\n\nThis strange idea was still prevalent in the sixteenth century, and\ningenious explanations were sometimes given of the cause of this\nphenomenon, as appears in the following account by Rueus of germinating\ndiamonds:[27]\n\n It has recently been related to me by a lady worthy of credence, that\n a noblewoman, descended from the illustrious house of Luxemburg, had\n in her possession two diamonds which she had inherited, and which\n produced others in such miraculous wise, that whoever examined them\n at stated intervals judged that they had engendered progeny like\n themselves. The cause of this (if it be permissible to philosophize\n regarding such a strange matter) would seem to be that the celestial\n energy in the parent stones, qualified by some one as \u201c_vis\n adamantifica_,\u201d first changes the surrounding air into water, or\n some similar substance, and then condenses and hardens this into the\n diamond gem.\n\nThe pearl-fishers of Borneo are said to preserve carefully every ninth\npearl they find, and place them in a bottle with two grains of rice for\neach pearl, believing, in spite of all evidence to the contrary, that\nthese particular pearls have the power to engender and breed others.\nCustom and superstition require that each bottle shall have the finger\nof a dead man as a stopper.\n\nTalismanic influences are taken into account in the wearing of jewelry\nby Orientals, two bracelets being frequently worn lest one member\nshould become jealous of the other, thus disturbing the equilibrium of\nthe whole organism. The piercing of the ears for ear-rings has been\nattributed to a desire to chastise the ear for its indiscretion in\nhearing secrets not intended to be heard, while costly and ornamental\near-rings are set in the ears to console those parts of our anatomy\nfor the suffering caused by the operation of piercing. In the case\nof necklaces of brilliant metal, adorned with pendants of glittering\nstones, the talismanic purpose is to attract the beholder\u2019s gaze and\nthus ward off the mysterious and dangerous emanations set forth by the\nEvil Eye; the necklace, or its ornaments, are supposed to perform a\nsimilar service to that rendered by the lightning-rod in diverting the\nelectric discharge.\n\n[Illustration: PEARL DEALER.\n\nFrom the \u201cHortus Sanitatis\u201d of Johannis de Cuba [Strassburg, Jean\nPryss, ca. 1483]: De lapidibus, cap. lxxviii. Author\u2019s library.]\n\nAt an early date the Christian Church registered its opposition to the\npractice of wearing amulets. At the Council of Laodicea, held in 355\nA.D., it was decreed, in the thirty-fourth canon, that priests and\nclerks must be neither enchanters, mathematicians, nor astrologers,\nand that they must not make \u201cwhat are called amulets,\u201d for these were\nfetters of the soul, and all who wore them should be cast out of\nthe church.[28] This emphatic condemnation of the prevailing usage\nwas not so much a protest against superstition _per se_ as against\npagan superstition, for almost if not all the amulets in use in the\nearly centuries of our era bore heathen or heretical symbols or\ninscriptions. In later times the invincible tendency to wear objects\nof this character found expression in the use of those associated\nwith Christian belief, such, for instance, as relics of the saints,\nmedallions blessed by the priest, etc.\n\n[Illustration: By permission of W. Griggs & Sons, Ltd., London.\n\nMAHARAJA RUNJIT SINGH, RULER OF THE PUNJAB, 1791 TO 1839.\n\nHe holds a \u201crosary\u201d of emeralds, stones prized in the Orient as\nantidotes to poison. From a portrait by Jiwan Ram, taken at Rupar in\n1831. From the Journal of Indian Art and Industry.]\n\nThe amulets of the Jews differed in many respects from those used by\nChristians. The Mosaic prohibition of representations of human or\nanimal forms imposed great restrictions upon the employment of engraved\ngems, and the Jew was only permitted to wear or carry those bearing\nmerely characters of mystic or symbolic significance. In talmudic times\namulets were sometimes hidden in a hollow staff, and they were believed\nto have more power when concealed from view in this way. They were\nlike concealed weapons, and it was said that, as a father might give\nsuch an amulet to a son, so God had given the Law to Israel for its\nprotection.[29]\n\nIn the Old French didactic poem, the _Roman de la Rose_, composed\nin the twelfth century, appear traces of the belief in the magic\nproperties of precious stones. Chaucer translated this poem into\nEnglish in the fourteenth century and we quote the following lines\nfrom his version. They describe the costume of the symbolical figure,\nRiches.\n\n    Richesse a girdle hadde upon\n    The bokel of it was of a stoon\n    Of Vertue greet, and mochel of might.\n\n    That stoon was greetly for to love,\n    And til a riche mannes bihove\n    Worth al the gold in Rome and Fryse.\n\n    The mordaunt[30] wrought in noble wyse,\n    Was of a stoon full precious,\n    That was so fyn and vertuous,\n    That hool a man it coude make\n    Of palasye and of tooth-ake.[31]\n\nAt the trial, in 1232, of Hubert de Burgh, chief justiciar, one of the\ncharges brought against him was that he had surreptitiously removed\nfrom the English treasury an exceedingly valuable stone, possessing the\nvirtue of rendering the wearer invincible in battle, and had given it\nto Llewellyn, King of Wales, the enemy of his own sovereign, Henry III\nof England (1207-1272).[32] This must have taken place about 1228, when\nHenry was engaged in a war with the Welsh.\n\nThat precious stones could, under certain circumstances, lose the\npowers inherent in them was firmly believed in medieval times. If\nhandled or even gazed upon by impure persons and sinners, some of the\nvirtues of the stones departed from them. Indeed, there were those who\nheld that precious stones, in common with all created things, were\ncorrupted by the sin of Adam. Therefore, in order to restore their\npristine virtue it might become necessary to sanctify and consecrate\nthem, and a kind of ritual serving this purpose has been preserved in\nseveral old treatises. The subject is sufficiently curious to warrant\nhere the repetition of one of these forms. The stones which required\nconsecration were to be wrapped in a perfectly clean linen cloth and\nplaced on the altar. Then three masses were to be said over them, and\nthe priest who celebrated the third mass, clad in his sacred vestments,\nwas to pronounce the following benediction:[33]\n\n The Lord be with us. And with thy spirit. Let us pray. Almighty\n God and Father, who manifestedst thy virtue to Elias by certain\n senseless creatures, who orderedst Moses, Thy servant, that, among\n the sacerdotal vestments, he should adorn the Rational of Judgment\n with twelve precious stones, and showedst to John, the evangelist, the\n famous city of Jerusalem, essentially constituted by the same stones,\n and who hadst the power to raise up sons to Abraham from stones, we\n humbly beseech Thy majesty since Thou hast elected one of the stones\n to be a dwelling-place for the majesty of Thy heart, that Thou wilt\n deign to bless and sanctify these stones by the sanctification and\n incarnation of Thy name, so that they may be sanctified, blessed,\n and consecrated, and may receive from Thee the effect of the virtues\n Thou hast granted to them, according to their kinds, and which the\n experience of the learned has shown to have been given by Thee; so\n that whoever may wear them on him may feel the presence of Thy power\n and may be worthy to receive the gift of Thy grace and the protection\n of Thy power. Through Jesus Christ, Thy Son, in whom dwells all\n sanctification, benediction, and consecration; who lives with Thee and\n reigns as God for all eternity, Amen. Thanks be to God.\n\nKonrad of Megenburg also gives this benediction in his \u201cBuch der Natur.\u201d\n\nLuther tells the following humorous tale of a Jew who was a vender of\namulets:\n\n There is sorcery among the Jews and their sorcerers think: \u201cIf we\n succeed, it is well for us; if we fail, a Christian is the sufferer;\n what care we for that?\u201d ... But Duke Albert of Saxony acted shrewdly.\n When a Jew offered him a button, inscribed with curious characters\n and signs, and asserted that this button gave protection from cuts,\n thrusts, and shots, the Duke answered: \u201cI will test that upon thyself,\n O Jew.\u201d Hereupon he led the man to the gate, hung the button at his\n neck, drew his own sword, and thrust the fellow through the body. \u201cThe\n same fate would have happened to me,\u201d said the Duke, \u201cas has happened\n to thee.\u201d[34]\n\nRuskin, with his keen poetic insight into the working of natural laws,\nsaw in the formation of crystals the action of both \u201cforce of heart\u201d\nand \u201csteadiness of purpose.\u201d He thus found himself, consciously or\nunconsciously, in agreement with the old fancies which attributed a\nspecies of personality to precious stones. Just as the Hindu regarded\nan imperfectly shaped crystal as a bringer of ill luck to the owner, so\nRuskin sees in such a crystal the signs of an innate \u201cimmorality,\u201d if\nwe may use this expression. Of a crystal aggregation of this type he\nwrites as follows:[35]\n\n Opaque, rough-surfaced, jagged on the edge, distorted in the spine,\n it exhibits a quite human image of decrepitude and dishonour; but the\n worst of all signs of its decay and helplessness is, that halfway up,\n a parasite crystal, smaller, but just as sickly, has rooted itself in\n the side of the larger one, eating out a cavity round its root, and\n then growing backwards, or downwards, contrary to the direction of\n the main crystal. Yet I cannot trace the least difference in purity\n of substance between the first most noble stone, and this ignoble and\n dissolute one. The impurity of the last is in its will or want of will.\n\nThere is established a very pretty custom of assigning to the various\nmasculine and feminine Christian names a particular gem, and such\nname-gems are often set together with natal and talismanic gems and\nwith gems of one\u2019s patron saint. It is considered an exceedingly good\nomen when it happens that all three gems are of the same sort.\n\n\nGEMS FOR FEMININE NAMES.\n\n  Adelaide    Andalusite\n  Agnes       Agate\n  Alice       Alexandrite\n  Anne        Amber\n\n  Beatrice    Basalt\n  Belle       Bloodstone\n  Bertha      Beryl\n\n  Caroline    Chalcedony\n  Catherine   Cat\u2019s-eye\n  Charlotte   Carbuncle\n  Clara       Carnelian\n  Constance   Crystal\n\n  Dorcas      Diamond\n  Dorothy     Diaspore\n\n  Edith       Eye-agate\n  Eleanor     El\u00e6olite\n  Elizabeth   Emerald\n  Ellen       Essonite\n  Emily       Euclase\n  Emma        Epidote\n\n  Florence    Fluorite\n  Frances     Fire-opal\n\n  Gertrude    Garnet\n  Gladys      Golden Beryl\n  Grace       Grossularite\n\n  Hannah      Heliotrope\n  Helen       Hyacinth\n\n  Irene       Iolite\n\n  Jane        Jacinth\n  Jessie      Jasper\n  Josephine   Jadeite\n  Julia       Jade\n\n  Louise      Lapis-lazuli\n  Lucy        Lepidolite\n\n  Margaret    Moss-agate\n  Martha      Malachite\n  Marie       Moldavite\n  Mary        Moonstone\n\n  Olive       Olivine\n\n  Pauline     Pearl\n\n  Rose        Ruby\n\n  Sarah       Spodumene\n  Susan       Sapphire\n\n  Therese     Turquoise\n\n\nGEMS FOR MASCULINE NAMES.\n\n  Abraham     Aragonite\n  Adolphus    Albite\n  Adrian      Andalusite\n  Albert      Agate\n  Alexander   Alexandrite\n  Alfred      Almandine\n  Ambrose     Amber\n  Andrew      Aventurine\n  Archibald   Axinite\n  Arnold      Aquamarine\n  Arthur      Amethyst\n  Augustus    Agalmatolite\n\n  Benjamin    Bloodstone\n  Bernard     Beryl\n\n  Charles     Chalcedony\n  Christian   Crystal\n  Claude      Cyanite\n  Clement     Chrysolite\n  Conrad      Crocidolite\n  Constantine Chrysoberyl\n  Cornelius   Cat\u2019s-eye\n\n  Dennis      Demantoid\n  Dorian      Diamond\n\n  Edmund      Emerald\n  Edward      Epidote\n  Ernest      Euclase\n  Eugene      Essonite\n\n  Ferdinand   Feldspar\n  Francis     Fire-opal\n  Frederick   Fluorite\n\n  George      Garnet\n  Gilbert     Gadolinite\n  Godfrey     Gagates\n  Gregory     Grossularite\n  Gustavus    Galactides\n  Guy         Gold quartz\n\n  Henry       Heliolite\n  Herbert     Hyacinth\n  Horace      Harlequin opal\n  Hubert      Heliotrope\n  Hugh        Heliodor\n  Humphrey    Hypersthene\n\n  James       Jade\n  Jasper      Jasper\n  Jerome      Jadeite\n  John        Jacinth\n  Joseph      Jargoon\n  Julius      Jet\n\n  Lambert     Labradorite\n  Lawrence    Lapis-lazuli\n  Leo         Lepidolite\n  Leonard     Loadstone\n\n  Mark        Malachite\n  Matthew     Moonstone\n  Maurice     Moss-agate\n  Michael     Microcline\n\n  Nathan      Natrolite\n  Nicholas    Nephrite\n\n  Oliver      Onyx\n  Osborne     Orthoclase\n  Osmond      Opal\n  Oswald      Obsidian\n\n  Patrick     Pyrope\n  Paul        Pearl\n  Peter       Porphyry\n  Philip      Prase\n\n  Ralph       Rubellite\n  Raymond     Rose-quartz\n  Richard     Rutile\n  Robert      Rock-crystal\n  Roger       Rhodonite\n  Roland      Ruby\n\n  Stephen     Sapphire\n\n  Theodore    Tourmaline\n  Thomas      Topaz\n\n  Valentine   Vesuvianite\n  Vincent     Verd-antique\n\n  Walter      Wood-opal\n  William     Willemite\n\n\n\n\nIII\n\nOn the Talismanic Use of Special Stones[36]\n\n\nAgate\n\nThe author of \u201cLithica\u201d celebrates the merits of the agate in the\nfollowing lines:[37]\n\n    Adorned with this, thou woman\u2019s heart shall gain,\n    And by persuasion thy desire obtain;\n    And if of men thou aught demand, shalt come\n    With all thy wish fulfilled rejoicing home.\n\nThis idea is elaborated by Marbodus, Bishop of Rennes, in the eleventh\ncentury, who declares that agates make the wearers agreeable and\npersuasive and also give them the favor of God.[38] Still other virtues\nare recounted by Camillo Leonardo, who claims that these stones\ngive victory and strength to their owners and avert tempests and\nlightning.[39]\n\nThe agate possessed some wonderful virtues, for its wearer was guarded\nfrom all dangers, was enabled to vanquish all terrestrial obstacles and\nwas endowed with a bold heart; this latter prerogative was presumably\nthe secret of his success. Some of these wonder-working agates were\nblack with white veins, while others again were entirely white.[40]\n\nThe wearing of agate ornaments was even believed to be a cure for\ninsomnia and was thought to insure pleasant dreams. In spite of these\nsupposed advantages, Cardano asserts that while wearing this stone he\nhad many misfortunes which he could not trace to any fault or error\nof his own. He, therefore, abandoned its use; although he states that\nit made the wearer more prudent in his actions.[41] Indeed, Cardano\nappears to have tested the talismanic worth of gems according to a plan\nof his own,\u2014namely, by wearing them in turn and noting the degree\nof good or ill fortune he experienced. By this method he apparently\narrived at positive results based on actual experience; but he quite\nfailed to appreciate the fact that no real connection of any kind\nexisted between the stones and their supposed effects. In another\ntreatise this author takes a somewhat more favorable view of the agate,\nand proclaims that all varieties render those who wear them \u201ctemperate,\ncontinent, and cautious; therefore they are all useful for acquiring\nriches.\u201d[42]\n\nAccording to the text accompanying a curious print published in Vienna\nin 1709, the attractive qualities of the so-called coral-agate were to\nbe utilized in an air-ship, the invention of a Brazilian priest. Over\nthe head of the aviator, as he sat in the air-ship, there was a network\nof iron to which large coral-agates were attached. These were expected\nto help in drawing up the ship, when, through the heat of the sun\u2019s\nrays, the stones had acquired magnetic power. The main lifting force\nwas provided by powerful magnets enclosed in two metal spheres; how the\nmagnets themselves were to be raised is not explained.[43]\n\n[Illustration: AN AIR-SHIP OF 1709.\n\nIn the network above the figure were to be set coral-agates, supposed\nto possess such magnetic powers as to keep the craft aloft. From\nValentini, \u201cMuseum Museorum,\u201d Pt. III, Franckfurt am Mayn, 1714, p.35.\nAuthor\u2019s library.]\n\nAbout the middle of the past century, the demand for agate amulets was\nso great in the Soudan that the extensive agate-cutting establishments\nat Idar and Oberstein in Germany were almost exclusively busied with\nfilling orders for this trade. Brown or black agates having a white\nring in the centre were chiefly used for the fabrication of these\namulets, the white ring being regarded as a symbol of the eye. Hence\nthe amulets were supposed to neutralize the power of the Evil Eye, or\nelse to be emblematic of the watchfulness of a guardian spirit. The\ndemand for these amulets has fallen off greatly, but when it was at\nits height single firms exported them to the value of 40,000 thalers\n($30,000) annually, the total export amounting to hundreds of thousands\nof thalers. Even at present a considerable trade in these objects is\nstill carried on. That there is a fashion in amulets is shown by the\nfact that, while red, white, and green amulets are in demand on the\nwest coast of Africa, only white stones are favored for this use in\nNorthern Africa.\n\n[Illustration: AFRICAN AGATE CHARMS.\n\nMade of Brazilian agate at Oberstein, Germany, for African trade. Field\nMuseum, Chicago.]\n\n\nAlexandrite\n\nThere are a few talismanic stones which have gained their repute in\nour time, notably the alexandrite, a variety of chrysoberyl found in\nRussia, in the emerald mines on the Takowaya, in the Ural region. The\ndiscovery of this variety is stated to have been made in 1831 on the\nday Alexander II (then heir-apparent) reached his majority, and it was\ntherefore named alexandrite, by Nordenskj\u00f6ld, the mineralogist. The\nstone as found in gem form rarely weighs over from one to three carats,\nand is characterized by a marked pleochroism of a splendid green\nchanging to a beautiful columbine red. But in Ceylon much larger gems\nare found, some few weighing 60 carats each, although rarely of more\nthan one or two carats. The color is of a darker and more bottle-like\ngreen, and the change by night renders them darker and more granitized\nthan the Russian stones, which are extremely rare. As red and green\nare the Russian national colors, the alexandrite has become a great\nfavorite with the Russians, and is looked upon as a stone of good omen\nin that country. Such, however, is its beauty as a gem that its fame is\nby no means confined to Russia, and it is eagerly sought in other lands\nas well.\n\n\nAmber\n\nAmber was one of the first substances used by man for decoration,\nand it was also employed at a very early period for amulets and for\nmedicinal purposes. More or less shapeless pieces of rough amber,\nmarked with circular depressions, have been found in Prussia,\nSchleswig-Holstein, and Denmark, in deposits of the Stone Age. These\ndepressions are sometimes regularly disposed and at other times\nirregularly, and seem intended to imitate similar depressions found in\nlarge stones and rocks, often the work of man\u2019s hand, but occasionally\nthe result of natural causes. In Hoernes\u2019 opinion they marked the\nresting place of the spirit or spirits believed to animate the stone,\nand hence it is probable that the amber fragments were used as\ntalismans or amulets.[44]\n\nFor the ancient Greek poets, the grains of amber were the tears\nannually shed over the death of their brother Pha\u00ebthon by the Heliades\nafter grief had metamorphosed them into poplars growing on the banks\nof the Eridanus (the modern river Po).[45] In a lost tragedy of\nSophocles, he saw the origin of amber in the tears shed over the death\nof Meleager by certain Indian birds. For Nicias it was the \u201cjuice\u201d or\nessence of the brilliant rays of the setting sun, congealed in the sea\nand then cast up upon the shore. A more prosaic explanation likened\namber to resin, and regarded it as being an exudation from the trunks\nof certain trees. Indeed, the poetic fancy we have just noted is the\nsame idea clothed in a metaphorical or mythological form. Another fancy\nrepresented amber to be the solidified urine of the lynx, hence one of\nits names, _lyncurius_.[46]\n\n[Illustration: THE TREE THAT EXUDES AMBER.\n\nFrom the \u201cHortus Sanitatis,\u201d of Johannis de Cuba [Strassburg, Jean\nPryss, ca. 1483]; De lapidibus, cap. lxx. Author\u2019s library.]\n\nThe brilliant and beautiful yellow of certain ambers and the fact\nthat this material was very easily worked served to make its use more\ngeneral, and it soon became a favorite object of trade and barter\nbetween the peoples of the Baltic Coast and the more civilized peoples\nto the south. Schliemann found considerable amber from the Baltic in\nthe graves of Mycen\u00e6, and the frequent allusions to it in the works\nof Latin authors of the first and succeeding centuries testify to its\npopularity in the Roman world.\n\nProbably the very earliest allusion in literature to the ornamental use\nof amber appears in Homer\u2019s Odyssey,[47] where we read:\n\n                                   Eurymachus\n    Received a golden necklace, richly wrought,\n    And set with amber beads, that glowed as if\n    With sunshine. To Eurydamas there came\n    A pair of ear-rings, each a triple gem,\n    Daintily fashioned and of exquisite grace.\n    Two servants bore them.\n\nAmber ingeniously carved into animal forms has been discovered in\ntumuli at Indersoen, Norway.[48] These curious objects were worn as\namulets, and the peculiar forms were supposed to enhance the power of\nthe material, giving it special virtues and rendering it of greater\nvalue and efficacy.\n\nPieces of amber with singular natural markings were greatly esteemed,\nespecially when these markings suggested the initials of the name of\nsome prominent person. Thus, we are told that Friedrich Wilhelm I of\nPrussia paid to a dealer a high price for a piece of amber on which\nappeared his initials. The same dealer had another piece on which he\nread the initials of Charles XII of Sweden. When he received the news\nof this king\u2019s death, he bitterly lamented having lost the opportunity\nof selling him amber for a high price. But he was cleverly consoled by\nNathaniel Sendal, the relator of the story, who easily persuaded the\ndealer that the markings could just as well signify the initials of\nsome other name. Sendal adduces this as a proof that the letters read\non such pieces of amber were as much the product of the observer\u2019s\nimagination as of the markings on the material.[49] Those who secured\namber so mysteriously marked by Nature\u2019s hand probably felt that they\nhad obtained a talisman of great power, especially destined for their\nuse.\n\n[Illustration: 1. Amber ornament, perforated, from Assyrian grave.\n\n2. Amber ring ornament from Pompeii.\n\n3. Large annular bead of amber from Mexico. Aztec work.\n\n4. Amber wedding necklace. Eighteenth century. Baltic Provinces.\n\n5. Amber beads. Worn by African natives.]\n\n\nAmethyst\n\nWhile the special and traditional virtue of the amethyst was the cure\nof drunkenness, many other qualities were attributed to this stone in\nthe fifteenth century. For Leonardo,[50] it had the power to control\nevil thoughts, to quicken the intelligence, and to render men shrewd\nin business matters. An amethyst worn on the person had a sobering\neffect, not only upon those who had partaken too freely of the cup that\nintoxicates, but also upon those over-excited by the love-passion.\nLastly, it preserved soldiers from harm and gave them victory over\ntheir enemies, and was of great assistance to hunters in the capture of\nwild animals. The amethyst shared with many other stones the power to\npreserve the wearer from contagion.[51]\n\nA pretty legend in regard to the amethyst has been happily treated in\nFrench verse. The god Bacchus, offended at some neglect that he had\nsuffered, was determined to avenge himself, and declared that the first\nperson he should meet, when he and his train passed along, should be\ndevoured by his tigers. Fate willed it that this luckless mortal\nwas a beautiful and pure maiden named Amethyst, who was on her way to\nworship at the shrine of Diana. As the ferocious beasts sprang toward\nher, she sought the protection of the goddess, and was saved from a\nworse fate by being turned into a pure white stone. Recognizing the\nmiracle and repenting of his cruelty, Bacchus poured the juice of the\ngrape as a libation over the petrified body of the maiden, thus giving\nto the stone the beautiful violet hue that so charms the beholder\u2019s\neye.[52]\n\nFrom the various descriptions of this stone given by ancient writers,\nit appears that one of the varieties was probably the purple almandine\nor Indian garnet, and it is not improbable that we have here the reason\nfor the name amethyst and for the supposed virtue of the stone in\npreserving from drunkenness. For if water were poured into a vessel\nmade of a reddish stone, the liquid would appear like wine, and could\nnevertheless be drunk with impunity.\n\n\nBeryl\n\nArnoldus Saxo, writing about 1220, after reciting the virtues of\nthe beryl as given by Marbodus, after Evax and Isidorus, reports\nin addition that the stone gave help against foes in battle or in\nlitigation; the wearer was rendered unconquerable and at the same\ntime amiable, while his intellect was quickened and he was cured of\nlaziness.[53] In the old German translation of Thomas de Cantimpr\u00e9\u2019s\n\u201cDe Proprietatibus Rerum,\u201d we read that the beryl reawakens the\nlove of married people (er hat auch die art daz er der elaut lieb\nwiederpringt).[54]\n\n\nBloodstone\n\n[Illustration: A PRACTICAL TEST OF THE VIRTUES OF THE BLOODSTONE TO\nPREVENT NOSE-BLEED.\n\nFrom the \u201cHortus Sanitatis\u201d of Johannis de Cuba [Strassburg, Jean\nPryss, ca. 1483]; De lapidibus, cap. xc. Author\u2019s library.]\n\nThe heliotrope or bloodstone was supposed to impart a reddish hue to\nthe water in which it was placed, so that when the rays of the sun\nfell upon the water they gave forth red reflections. From this fancy\nwas developed the strange exaggeration that this stone had the power\nto turn the sun itself a blood-red, and to cause thunder, lightning,\nrain, and tempest. The old treatise of Damigeron relates this of the\nbloodstone, adding that it announced future events by producing rain\nand by \u201caudible oracles.\u201d Probably the conjurors, before proceeding\nto use the stone for their incantations, watched the heavens and\nwaited until they noticed the signs of an approaching storm. They then\ninterpreted the sounds of the wind and thunder in various ways, so\nas to give apt answers to the questions addressed to them touching\nfuture events. It is well known that the sighing of the wind, and,\nindeed, all those natural sounds which constitute the grand symphony of\nNature, were interpreted by prophets and seers into articulate speech.\nDamigeron also declares that the bloodstone preserved the faculties and\nbodily health of the wearer, brought him consideration and respect, and\nguarded him from deception.[55]\n\nIn the Leyden papyrus the bloodstone is praised as an amulet in the\nfollowing extravagant terms:\n\n The world has no greater thing; if any one have this with him he will\n be given whatever he asks for; it also assuages the wrath of kings and\n despots, and whatever the wearer says will be believed. Whoever bears\n this stone, which is a gem, and pronounces the name engraved upon it,\n will find all doors open, while bonds and stone walls will be rent\n asunder.[56]\n\n\nCarbuncle\n\nThe carbuncle was recommended as a heart stimulant; indeed, so powerful\nwas its action, that the wearers were rendered angry and passionate and\nwere even warned to be on their guard against attacks of apoplexy.[57]\nThe blood-red hue of the stone also suggested its use as a symbol of\nthe divine sacrifice of Christ on the cross. However, not only in\nChristianity was this stone used to illustrate religious conceptions,\nfor the Koran affirms that the Fourth Heaven is composed of carbuncle.\nIn mythical fancies too this stone played its part, for dragon\u2019s eyes\nwere said to be carbuncles.\n\nRumphius[58] states that in 1687 he was told by a chirurgeon that the\nlatter had seen in the possession of one of the rulers in the island of\nAmboin a carbuncle said to have been brought by a serpent. The story\nran that this ruler, when a child, had been placed by his mother in a\nhammock attached to two branches of a tree. While there a serpent crept\nup to him and dropped a stone upon his body. In gratitude for this\ngift the parents of the child fed and cared for the serpent. The stone\nis described as having been of a warm yellow hue, verging on red; it\nshone so brightly at night that a room could be illuminated by it. It\neventually passed into the possession of a King of Siam.\n\n\nCarnelian\n\n    Talisman ist Karneol\n    Gl\u00e4ubigen bringt er Gl\u00fcck und Wohl;\n    Steht er gar auf Onyx\u2019 Grunde,\n    K\u00fcss\u2019 ihm mit geweihtem Munde!\n    Alles \u00dcbel treibt er fort,\n    Sch\u00fctzet dich und sch\u00fctzt den Ort;\n    Wenn das eingegrabene Wort\n    Allah\u2019s Namen rein verk\u00fcndet;\n    Dich zu Lieb\u2019 und Tat entz\u00fcndet;\n    Und besonders werden Frauen\n    Sich am Talisman erbauen![59]\n\n    Carnelian is a talisman,\n    It brings good luck to child and man;\n    If resting on an onyx ground,\n    A sacred kiss imprint when found.\n    It drives away all evil things;\n    To thee and thine protection brings.\n    The name of Allah, king of kings,\n    If graven on this stone, indeed,\n    Will move to love and doughty deed.\n    From such a gem a woman gains\n    Sweet hope and comfort in her pains.\n\nThe wearing of carnelians is recommended by the Lapidario of Alfonso\nX[60] to those who have a weak voice or are timid in speech, for the\nwarm-colored stone will give them the courage they lack, so that they\nwill speak both boldly and well. This is in accord with the general\nbelief in the stimulating and animating effects produced by red stones.\n\nOn a carnelian is engraved in Arabic characters a prayer to keep away\nevil and to deliver the wearer from all the tricks of the devil and\nfrom the envious. The inscription reads in translation:\n\n    In the name of God the Just, the very Just!\n    I implore you, O God King of the World,\n    God of the World, deliver us from the devil\n    Who tries to do harm and evil to us through\n    Bad people, and from the evil of the envious.\n\nThroughout all the East people are afraid of the envious. They believe\nthat if you envy a person for his health or his wealth or any good\nthing he may have, he will lose it in a short time, and it is the devil\nwho incites the envy of some people against others. So it is supposed\nthat by wearing this stone, bearing this prayer against the envious,\ntheir envy will cease to do you harm.\n\nThe popularity of the carnelian as a talismanic stone among Mohammedan\npeoples is said to be due to the fact that the Prophet himself wore, on\nthe little finger of his right hand, a silver ring set with a carnelian\nengraved for use as a seal. One of the most famous of the im\u00e2ms, Jafar,\nlent the weight of his authority to the belief in the virtue of the\ncarnelian, for he declared that all the desires of any man who wore\nthis stone would be gratified. Hence in Persia the name of one of the\ntwelve im\u00e2ms, comprising Ali and his successors, is frequently engraved\non this stone.[61]\n\n[Illustration: CARNELIAN SEAL, WORN BY NAPOLEON I, NAPOLEON III, AND\nTHE PRINCE IMPERIAL.\n\nThis most interesting seal is described by the Rev. C. W. King, the\nwriter on Antique Gems. It is carnelian, octagonal-shaped, and upon it\nis engraved the legend: \u201cThe slave Abraham relying upon the Merciful\n(God).\u201d Napoleon III wore it on his watch-chain. He said about it: \u201cThe\nFirst Consul picked it up with his own hands during the campaign in\nEgypt and always carried it about him, as his nephew did later.\u201d The\nPrince Imperial received it with the following message: \u201cAs regards\nmy son, I desire that he will keep, as a talisman, the Seal which I\nused to wear attached to my watch.\u201d He carried the seal upon a string\nfastened about his neck in obedience to the injunction of his father.\nAt the time of his lamentable death it must have been carried off in\nSouth Africa by the Zulus, when they stripped his body, and it has\nnever been recovered.]\n\nAn Armenian writer of the seventeenth century reports that in India the\n_l\u00e2l_ or balas-ruby, if powdered and taken in a potion was believed\nto banish all dark forebodings and to excite joyous emotions. To the\ncarnelian was attributed a virtue somewhat analogous to that ascribed\nto the turquoise, as anyone wearing a carnelian was proof against\ninjury from falling houses or walls; the writer emphasizes this by\nstating that \u201cno man who wore a carnelian was ever found in a collapsed\nhouse or beneath a fallen wall.\u201d[62]\n\n\nChalcedony\n\n[Illustration: CHALCEDONY VOTIVE CHARM FROM MEXICO.\n\nAztec. Field Museum, Chicago.]\n\n[Illustration: CURIOUS ALTAR OF POWALAWA INDIANS OF ARIZONA.\n\nThe ceremonial objects are grouped around a crystal of rock-crystal in\nthe centre. (See page 254.)]\n\nAn ingenious though far-fetched explanation of the power attributed\nto chalcedony of driving away phantoms and visions of the night is\nsupplied by Gonelli, writing in 1702. For him the source of this\nasserted power was to be found in what has been erroneously termed the\nalkaline quality of the stone. This dissipated the evil humors of the\neye, thus removing the diseased condition of that organ which caused\nthe apparitions to be seen.[63] However absurd this explanation may\nbe, it nevertheless shows that the author put little faith in visible\nghosts, and rightly enough recognized the purely subjective character\nof such phenomena.\n\n\nChrysoberyl\n\nThe cat\u2019s-eye variety of chrysoberyl, or precious cat\u2019s-eye, is used\nby the natives of Ceylon as a charm against evil spirits. As a proof\nof the high value set upon the gem in India, De Boot states that a\ncat\u2019s-eye estimated as worth ninety gold pieces in Lusitania was sold\nfor six hundred in India.[64] Some of the finest specimens come from\nCeylon.\n\n\nChrysolite\n\nThe \u201cSerpent Isle,\u201d in the Red Sea, was stated by Agatharcides to be\nthe source whence came the topaz (chrysolite); here, by the mandate\nof the Egyptian kings, the inhabitants collected specimens of this\nstone and delivered them to the gem-cutters for polishing.[65] These\nsimple details are elaborated by Diodorus Siculus into the legend that\nthe island was guarded by jealous watchers who had orders to put to\ndeath any unauthorized persons who approached it. Even those who had\nthe right to seek the gem could not see the chrysolite in daytime;\nonly after nightfall was it revealed by its radiance; the seekers then\nmarked well the spot and were able to find the stone on the following\nday.[66]\n\nFrom this Egyptian source, and possibly from others exploited by the\nEgyptians, have come the finest chrysolites (peridots, or olivines),\nthe most magnificent examples of this gem. These found their way into\nthe cathedral treasures of Europe, evidently by loot or trade at the\nperiod of the Crusades, and are generally called emeralds. Those most\nnotable are in the Treasury of the Three Magi, in the great \u201cDom,\u201d or\nCathedral at Cologne. Some of these gems are nearly two inches long.\n\nIn our own land beautiful specimens can be seen in the Morgan\ncollection at the American Museum of Natural History and in the\nHiginbotham Hall in the Field Museum of Natural History, Chicago,\nIllinois.\n\nPliny quotes from Juba the tradition that the topaz (chrysolite)\nderived its name from the Island of Topazos, in the Red Sea, the first\nspecimen having been brought thence by the procurator Philemon, to\nBerenice, mother of Ptolemy II, Philadelphus. This monarch is said to\nhave had a statue of his wife Arsino\u00eb made from the stone.[67] If there\nbe any foundation for this latter statement, the precious gift sent by\nPhilemon must have been a mass of fluorspar, or some similar material.\nMore than three hundred years after Pliny\u2019s time, Epiphanius, evidently\nrepeating another version of this tradition, states that the \u201ctopaz\u201d\nwas set in the diadem of the \u201cTheban queen.\u201d\n\nChrysolite (olivine, peridot), to exert its full power, required to be\nset in gold; worn in this way it dispelled the vague terrors of the\nnight. If, however, it were to be used as a protection from the wiles\nof evil spirits, the stone had to be pierced and strung on the hair of\nan ass and then attached to the left arm.[68] The belief in the virtue\nof the chrysolite to dissolve enchantments and to put evil spirits to\nflight was probably due to the association of the stone with the sun,\nbefore whose life-giving rays darkness and all the powers of darkness\nwere driven away.\n\n\nChrysoprase\n\nWonderful things are told of the virtue of the chrysoprase, for Volmar\nstates that, if a thief sentenced to be hanged or beheaded should\nplace this stone in his mouth, he would immediately escape from his\nexecutioners.[69] Although we are not informed in what way this\nfortunate result was attained, it seems likely that the stone was\nbelieved to make the thief invisible, and thus possessed a virtue often\nattributed to the opal.\n\nA strange story regarding a magic stone reputed to have been worn by\nAlexander the Great is related by Albertus Magnus. According to this\nrecital, Alexander, in his battles, wore a \u201cprase\u201d in his girdle. On\nhis return from his Indian campaign, wishing one day to bathe in the\nEuphrates, he laid aside his girdle, and a serpent bit off the stone\nand then dropped it into the river.[70] Even Albertus, who is far from\ncritical, admits that the story seems like a fable, and it probably\nbelongs to a comparatively late period. As the term \u201cprase\u201d is used\nvery loosely by early writers, this \u201cvictory stone\u201d may have been an\nemerald or possibly jade.\n\n\nCoral\n\nThe appreciation of coral as an ornament, or for amulets, seems to\npresuppose a certain development of civilization, for savage tribes\ngreatly prefer glass ornaments. Many attempts have been made to\nintroduce coral beads instead of glass beads among such tribes, but\nwith no success, as the cheaper, but brighter, glass always commands a\nhigher price.[71]\n\nTo still tempests and traverse broad rivers in safety was the privilege\nof one who bore either red or white coral with him. That this also\nstanched the flow of blood from a wound, cured madness, and gave\nwisdom, was said to have been experimentally proved.[72]\n\n[Illustration: KABYLE JEWELRY.\n\nOf Mediterranean coral and pearls. Field Museum, Chicago.]\n\nCoral, which, for twenty centuries or more was classed among the\nprecious stones, to retain its power as an amulet, must not have been\nworked, and in Italy only such pieces are valued for this purpose\nas have been freshly gathered from the sea or have been cast up by\nthe sea on the shore. To exercise all its power against spells, or\nenchantments, coral must be worn where its brilliant color makes\nit conspicuous; if, however, it should by accident be broken, the\nseparate pieces have no virtue, and the magic power ceases, as though\nthe spirit dwelling in the coral had fled from its abode. The peasant\nwomen are careful to guard the corals they wear for a special purpose\nfrom the eyes of their husbands, for the substance is believed to grow\npale at certain seasons, regaining its pristine hue after a short\ninterval of time. Indeed, the women believe that the coral shares their\nindisposition with them. All this serves to show that a kind of vital\nforce is believed to animate the material, gaining or losing in vigor\naccording to certain conditions, and finally disappearing when the form\nis broken. These beliefs are all clearly traceable to the animistic\nideas of primitive man.[73]\n\n\nDiamond\n\nThe diamond is to the pearl as the sun is to the moon, and we might\nwell call one the \u201cking-gem\u201d and the other the \u201cqueen-gem.\u201d The\ndiamond, like a knight of old,\u2014brilliant and resistant, is the emblem\nof fearlessness and invincibility; the pearl, like a lady of old,\u2014pure\nand fair to look upon, is the emblem of modesty and purity. Therefore\nit does not seem unfitting that the diamond should be presented as a\ntoken to the pearl, and that pearls should go with the diamond. The\nvirtues ascribed to this stone are almost all directly traceable either\nto its unconquerable hardness or to its transparency and purity. It\nwas therefore thought to bring victory to the wearer, by endowing him\nwith superior strength, fortitude, and courage. Marbodus[74] tells us\nit was a magic stone of great power and served to drive away nocturnal\nspectres; for this purpose it should be set in gold and worn on the\nleft arm. For St. Hildegard the sovereign virtue of the diamond was\nrecognized by the devil, who was a great enemy of this stone because it\nresisted his power by day and by night.[75] Rueus[76] calls it \u201ca gem\nof reconciliation,\u201d as it enhanced the love of a husband for his wife.\n\nCardano[77] takes a more pessimistic view of the qualities of the\ndiamond. He says:\n\n It is believed to make the wearer unhappy; its effects therefore are\n the same upon the mind as that of the sun upon the eye, for the latter\n rather dims than strengthens the sight. It indeed renders fearless,\n but there is nothing that contributes more to our safety than prudence\n and fear; therefore it is better to fear.\n\nThe diamond was often associated with the lightning and was sometimes\nbelieved to owe its origin to the thunderbolt, but we do not recall\nhaving seen elsewhere the statement made in an anonymous Italian\nmanuscript of the fourteenth century. Here it is expressly asserted\nthat the diamond is sometimes consumed or melted when it thunders.[78]\nCertainly, that the same force that was supposed to have formed the\nstone should be able to dissolve it, is not an illogical idea. That the\ndiamond can be entirely consumed at a high temperature was a fact not\nknown in Europe in the fourteenth century, and therefore the belief in\nthe destructive effect of the electric current must have arisen from\nsuperstitious or poetic fancies, and not from any vague conception of\nthe true nature of the diamond.\n\nIn the Talmud we read of a gem, supposed to have been the diamond,\nwhich was worn by the high priest.[79] This stone served to show the\nguilt or innocence of one accused of any crime; if the accused were\nguilty, the stone would grow dim, but if he were innocent, it would\nshine more brilliantly than ever. This quality is also alluded to by\nSir John Mandeville, who wrote:\n\n It happens often that the good diamond loses its virtue by sin and for\n incontinence of him who bears it.\n\nThe Hindus classed diamonds according to the four castes. The Brahmin\ndiamond gave power, friends, riches and good luck; the Kshatriya\ndiamond prevented the approach of old age; the Vaisya stone brought\nsuccess, and the Sudra, all manner of good fortune. On the other hand,\nin the treatise on gems by Buddhabhatta[80] we read:\n\n A diamond, a part of which is the color of blood or spotted with red,\n would quickly bring death to the wearer, even if he were the Master of\n Death.\n\nThe Arabians and Persians, as well as the modern Egyptians, agree in\nattributing to the diamond a wonderful power to bring good fortune, and\nRabbi Benoni, a mystic of the fourteenth century, treating of its magic\nvirtues, asserts that it produces somnambulism, and, as a talisman, so\npowerfully attracts the planetary influences that it renders the wearer\ninvincible; it was also said to provoke a state of spiritual ecstasy.\nAn alchemist of the same century, Pierre de Boniface, asserted that the\ndiamond made the wearer invisible.\n\nA curious fancy, prevalent in regard to many stones, attributed sex to\nthe diamond, and it is therefore not surprising that these stones were\nalso supposed to possess reproductive powers. In this connection Sir\nJohn Mandeville wrote:\n\n They grow together, male and female, and are nourished by the dew of\n heaven; and they engender commonly, and bring forth small children\n that multiply and grow all the year. I have oftentimes tried the\n experiment that if a man keep them with a little of the rock, and\n water them with May dew often, they shall grow every year and the\n small will grow great.\n\nThe following lines from a translation of the celebrated Orphic poem,\nwritten in the second century, show the high esteem in which the adamas\nwas held at that time:\n\n    The Evil Eye shall have no power to harm\n    Him that shall wear the diamond as a charm,\n    No monarch shall attempt to thwart his will,\n    And e\u2019en the gods his wishes shall fulfil.\n\nThis probably refers either to colorless corundum, the so-called \u201cwhite\nsapphire,\u201d or to quartz. The writer is disinclined to believe that the\nancients knew the diamond.\n\nThe ancient Hindu gem-treatise of Buddhabhatta asserts that the diamond\nof the Brahmin should have the whiteness of a shell or of rock-crystal;\nthat of the Kshatriya, the brown color of the eye of a hare; that of\nthe Vaisya, the lovely shade of a petal of the _kadali_ flower; that\nof the Sudra, the sheen of a polished blade. To kings alone the sages\nassigned two classes of colored diamonds,\u2014namely, those red as coral\nand those yellow as saffron. These were exclusively royal gems, but\ndiamonds of all other shades could be set in royal jewels.[81]\n\nA typical diamond is thus described in a Hindu gem-treatise:[82]\n\n A six-pointed diamond, pure, without stain, with pronounced and sharp\n edges, of a beautiful shade, light, with well-formed facets, without\n defects, illuminating space with its fire and with the reflection of\n the rainbow, a diamond of this kind is not easy to find in the earth.\n\nAccording to a wide-spread superstition, the talismanic power of a\ndiamond was lost if the stone were acquired by purchase; only when\nreceived as a gift could its virtues be depended on.[83] The same\nbelief is noted regarding the turquoise. The spirit dwelling in the\nstone was thought to take offence at the idea of being bought and sold,\nand was supposed to depart from the stone, leaving it nothing more than\na bit of senseless matter. If, however, the diamond (or turquoise) were\noffered as a pledge of love or friendship, the spirit was quite willing\nto transfer its good offices from one owner to another.\n\nThe Talmud shows us that the Jewish Rabbis sometimes endeavored to\nenliven their exhaustive discussions of ritual and legal questions by\ntelling \u201cgood stories\u201d to each other. One of these may be given as\nillustrating at once the wild improbability of some of these recitals\nand the belief in the wonderful magic virtues of the diamond:[84]\n\n R. Jehudah of Mesopatamia used to tell: Once while on board of a ship,\n I saw a diamond that was encircled by a snake, and a diver went to\n catch it. The snake then opened its mouth, threatening to swallow the\n ship. Then a raven came, bit off its head, and all water around turned\n into blood. Then another snake came, took the diamond, put it in the\n carcass, and it became alive; and again it opened its mouth, in order\n to swallow the ship. Another bird then came, bit off its head, took\n the diamond and threw it on the ship. We had with us salted birds, and\n we wanted to try whether the diamond would bring them to life, so we\n placed the gem on them, and they became animated and flew away with\n the gem.\n\nIt is said that the first large diamonds discovered by Europeans in\nSouth Africa were found in the leather bag of a sorcerer. Although\nlarge stones or fragments of rock are usually the objects of adoration\nas fetiches in Africa, any small stone that is wrapped in colored rags\nand worn on the neck may be regarded in the same way.[85] Several\ncompetent authorities state that these diamonds were the playthings of\nsome Boer children.\n\nAl Kazwini relates as follows the marvellous tale of the Valley of\nDiamonds:[86]\n\n \u201cAristotle[87] says that no one except Alexander ever reached the\n place where the diamond is produced. This is a valley, connected with\n the land Hind. The glance cannot penetrate to its greatest depths and\n serpents are found there, the like of which no man hath seen, and\n upon which no man can gaze without dying. However, this power endures\n only as long as the serpents live, for when they die the power leaves\n them. In this place summer reigns for six months and winter for the\n same length of time. Now, Alexander ordered that an iron mirror should\n be brought and placed at the spot where the serpents dwelt. When the\n serpents approached, their glance fell upon their own image in the\n mirror, and this caused their death. Hereupon, Alexander wished to\n bring out the diamonds from the valley, but no one was willing to\n undertake the descent. Alexander therefore sought counsel of the wise\n men, and they told him to throw down a piece of flesh into the valley.\n This he did, the diamonds became attached to the flesh, and the birds\n of the air seized the flesh and bore it up out of the valley. Then\n Alexander ordered his people to pursue the birds and to pick up what\n fell from the flesh.\u201d\n\n \u201cAnother writer states that the mines are in the mountains of Serendib\n (Ceylon) in a very deep gorge, in which are deadly serpents. When\n people wish to take out the diamonds they throw down pieces of flesh,\n which are seized by vultures and brought up to the brink of the gorge.\n There such of the diamonds as cling to the flesh are secured; these\n are of the size of a lentil or a pea. The largest pieces found attain\n the size of a half-bean.\u201d\n\nIn his version of the tale, one form of which appears in the seventh\nvoyage of Sindbad the Sailor, Teifashi states that the finest corundum\ngems were washed down the streams that flowed from Adam\u2019s Peak, on the\nisland of Ceylon; in time of drought, however, this source of supply\nceased. Now it happened that many eagles built their nests on the top\nof this mountain, and the gem-seekers used to place large pieces of\nflesh at the foot of the mountain. The eagles pounced upon these and\nbore them away to their nests, but were obliged to alight from time to\ntime in order to rest, and while the pieces of flesh lay on the rock,\nsome of the corundums became lightly attached to this, so that when the\neagles resumed their flight the stones dropped off and rolled down the\nmountain side.[88]\n\nThese oft-repeated tales are explained by Dr. Valentine Ball as\noriginating in the Hindu custom of sacrificing cattle when new mines\nwere opened, and leaving on the spot a certain part of the meat as an\noffering to the guardian deities. As these pieces of meat were soon\ncarried away by birds of prey, the legend arose that the diamonds were\nobtained in this way. This custom still prevailed in some parts of\nIndia when Dr. Ball wrote.[89]\n\nThe effect exercised by Hindu superstition on even the most enlightened\nEuropeans of our day may be recognized in the fact that the gifted\nprima donna, Mme. Maeterlinck, the wife of the foremost living European\npoet, has confessed that she wears a diamond suspended on her forehead\nbecause her husband believes that this brings good fortune to the\nwearer. This forehead-jewel is characteristically Hindu and enjoys in\nIndia the reputation of being especially auspicious.\n\n\nEmerald\n\nThe emerald was believed to foreshow future events,[90] but we do not\nlearn whether visions were actually seen in the stone, as they were\nin spheres of rock-crystal or beryl, or whether the emerald endowed\nthe wearer with a supernatural fore-knowledge of what was to come. As\na revealer of truth, this stone was an enemy of all enchantments and\nconjurations; hence it was greatly favored by magicians, who found all\ntheir arts of no avail if an emerald were in their vicinity when they\nbegan to weave their spells.[91]\n\n[Illustration: SPECIMEN PAGE OF ITALIAN MANUSCRIPT OF THE FOURTEENTH\nCENTURY.\n\nContaining an Italian version of the \u201cDe Mineralibus\u201d of Albertus\nMagnus. On this page is the account of the emerald, set in a ring worn\nby King Bela IV of Hungary (1235-1270), that was fractured when he\ncaressed his wife. Author\u2019s library.]\n\nTo this supernatural power inherent in the stone, enabling it to\nquicken the prophetic faculty, may be added many other virtues. If\nany one wished to strengthen his memory or to become an eloquent\nspeaker, he was sure to attain his end by securing possession of a\nfine emerald.[92] And not only the ambitious, but also those whose\nhearts had been smitten by the shafts from Cupid\u2019s bow found in this\nstone an invaluable auxiliary, for it revealed the truth or falsity of\nlover\u2019s oaths. Strange to say, however, the emerald, although commonly\nassigned to Venus, was often regarded as an enemy of sexual passion. So\nsensitive was the stone believed to be in this respect that Albertus\nMagnus relates of King Bela of Hungary, who possessed an exceptionally\nvaluable emerald set in a ring, that, when he embraced his wife while\nwearing this ring on his finger, the stone broke into three parts.[93]\n\nIn Rabbinical legend it is related that four precious stones were given\nby God to King Solomon; one of these was the emerald. The possession\nof the four stones is said to have endowed the wise king with power\nover all creation.[94] As these four stones probably typified the four\ncardinal points, and were very likely of red, blue, yellow, and green\ncolor respectively, we might conjecture that the other three stones\nwere the carbuncle, the lapis-lazuli, and the topaz.\n\nAfter stating that the emerald sharpens the wits and quickens the\nintelligence, Cardano declares that it therefore made people more\nhonest, for \u201cdishonesty is nothing but ignorance, stupidity, and\nill-nature.\u201d The same writer adds that the stone was believed to make\nmen economical and hence to make them rich, but of this he was very\nsceptical, since the experience of others as well as his own showed\nthat the emerald possessed very little power in this direction.[95]\n\nA talismanic emerald, once the property of the Mogul emperors of Delhi,\nhas recently been shown in Europe. The stone is of a rich deep green,\nand weighs 78 carats. Around the edge in Persian characters runs the\ninscription: \u201cHe who possesses this charm shall enjoy the special\nprotection of God.\u201d\n\nEmerald sharpened the wits, conferred riches and the power to predict\nfuture events. To evolve this latter virtue it must be put under the\ntongue. It also strengthened the memory. The light-colored stones were\nesteemed the best and legend told that they were brought from the\n\u201cnests of griffons.\u201d[96]\n\n\nGypsum\n\nGypsum when fibrous\u2014the fibres being long and straight\u2014is known\nas \u201csatin spar.\u201d This material is frequently cut rounded, or _en\ncabochon_, across the fibres; sometimes it is cut in the form of beads,\nor of pear-shaped drops, which are mounted in ear-rings, scarf-pins,\nor necklaces. The material is frequently found in Russia, England, and\nelsewhere, and is cut in England or Russia. Some of the cut stones are\nmounted in brass, or gilded brass, and sold as luck stones at Niagara,\nthe claim being made that the \u201csatin spar\u201d was taken from beneath the\nFalls at great peril, as occasionally small deposits of this kind of\ngypsum are found under the Falls.\n\nFrom time to time small consignments of this material have been sent to\nJapan, as the Japanese value it possibly on account of its purity, or\nowing to the fact that it has the effect of the cat\u2019s-eye. It is quite\ncheap, and at the same time very soft, so that it can be scratched with\nthe finger-nail. That found in Russia is of a golden-yellow or salmon\ncolor, and is worked into various ornaments, the one popular form being\negg-shaped, and, because of their form, such objects are frequently\ngiven as Easter gifts. The same material is also known in Egypt, and is\ncut in the same egg form, the ornaments being called \u201cPharaoh\u2019s eggs,\u201d\nalthough just which Pharaoh this refers to is not stated. They are also\nbelieved to possess qualities of protection and to bring good fortune.\n\n\nHematite\n\nThe virtues of the hematite were praised in an ancient gem-treatise\nwritten by Azchalias of Babylon for Mithridates the Great, King of\nPontus (d. 63 B.C.), a sovereign who was passionately fond of precious\nstones, and possessed a splendid collection of them, both engraved\nand unengraved. Azchalias, as cited by Pliny[97] taught that human\ndestinies were influenced by the virtues inherent in precious stones,\nand asserted that the hematite, when used as a talisman, procured for\nthe wearer a favorable hearing of petitions addressed to kings and a\nfortunate issue of lawsuits and judgments. It is a red oxide of iron,\nwhich when abraded shows a red streak; whence the name hematite, from\nthe Greek _haima_, \u201cblood.\u201d As an iron ore and hence associated with\nMars, the god of war, this substance was also considered to be an\ninvaluable help to the warrior on the field of battle if he rubbed his\nbody with it. Probably, like the loadstone, it was believed to confer\ninvulnerability.\n\nThe high degree of skill possessed by the Pueblo workers is strikingly\nshown in a finely inlaid hematite cylinder found in Pueblo Bonito.\nThe inlays are of turquoise and are designed to make the cylinder a\nconventional representation of a bird. The wings are indicated by\nturquoise inlays of pyramidal outline, curved so as to follow the\ncurvature of the cylinder, the head being figured by a conical piece of\nturquoise attached to one end. This conical termination bore a small\nbird-figure carved in relief.[98] When we consider the difficulties the\nIndian workers had to overcome in the execution of this artistic task\nwith the tools at their command, we can well realize that this object,\nprobably an amulet, must have been considered very valuable, and was\nmost likely the property of some one of high rank in the tribe or\ncommunity.\n\n\nJacinth\n\nThe jacinth was more especially recommended as an amulet for\ntravellers, because of its reputed value as a protection against the\nplague and against wounds and injuries, the two classes of perils most\nfeared by those who undertook long journeys. Moreover, this stone\nassured the wearer a cordial reception at any hostelry he visited.[99]\nIt was said to lose its brilliancy and grow pale and dull if the wearer\nor any one in his immediate neighborhood became ill of the plague. In\naddition to these qualities the jacinth augmented the riches of the\nowner, and endowed him with prudence in the conduct of his affairs.[100]\n\nSt. Hildegard, the Abbess of Bingen (d. 1179), gives the following\ndetails as to the proper use of the _jachant_ (jacinth):[101]\n\n If any one is bewitched by phantoms or by magical spells, so that he\n has lost his wits, take a hot loaf of pure wheaten bread and cut the\n upper crust in the form of a cross,\u2014not, however, cutting it quite\n through,\u2014and then pass the stone along the cutting, reciting these\n words: \u201cMay God, who cast away all precious stones from the devil ...\n cast away from thee, N., all phantoms and all magic spells, and free\n thee from the pain of this madness.\u201d\n\nThe patient is then to eat of the bread; if, however, his stomach\nshould be too feeble, unleavened bread may be used. All other solid\nfood given to the sick person should be treated in the same manner. We\nare also told that if any one has a pain in his heart, the pain will be\nrelieved provided the sign of the cross be made over the heart while\nthe above mentioned words are recited.\n\nThe wearer of a jacinth was believed to be proof against the lightning,\nand it was even asserted that wax that had been impressed by an image\ngraven on this stone averted the lightning from one who bore the seal.\nThat the stone really possessed this power was a matter of common\nreport, it being confidently declared that in regions where many were\nstruck by lightning, none who wore a jacinth were ever harmed. By a\nlike miracle it preserved the wearer from all danger of pestilence even\nthough he lived in an air charged with the disease. A third virtue was\nto induce sleep. Of this, Cardano states that he was in the habit of\nwearing rather a large jacinth, and had found that the stone \u201cseemed to\ndispose somewhat to sleep, but not much.\u201d He adds, in explanation of\nits slight efficacy, that his stone was not bright red, nor of the best\nsort, but of a golden hue, differing much from the best.[102]\n\n\nJade\n\nThe name jade includes two distinct minerals, nephrite and jadeite.\nThe former is a silicate of magnesia, of exceedingly tough structure,\nand ranks 6.5 in the scale of hardness, while jadeite, a silicate of\nalumina, is more crystalline and not as tough as nephrite and has a\nhardness of 7. A variety having a rich emerald-green hue is called by\nthe Chinese _fei ts\u2019ui_, \u201cKingfisher plumes\u201d; it is also denominated\nImperial jade.\n\nThe original form of the Chinese character _pao_, signifying\n\u201cprecious,\u201d consists of the outline of a house, within which are the\nsymbols of jade beads, shell, and an earthen jar. This shows that at\nthe very early time when these characters were first used, the Chinese\nalready collected jade and employed it for personal adornment.[103]\nThe oldest form of the ideograph for \u201cking\u201d, [3 \u201cbeads\u201d on a vertical\nstring], appears to be the symbol for a string of jade beads, which are\neven now used in China as insignia for high rank and authority.[104]\n\nJade amulets of many different forms are popular with the Chinese. One\nrepresenting two men is called \u201cTwo Brothers of Heavenly Love,\u201d and\nis often given to friends. A ph\u0153nix of jade is a favorite ornament\nfor young girls and is bestowed upon them when they come of age. To a\nnewly-wedded pair is given the figure of a man riding on a unicorn and\nholding castanets in his hand; this signifies that an heir will be born\nin due time.\n\nSuch is the fondness of the Chinese for jade that those who can afford\nthe luxury of its possession are wont to carry with them small pieces,\nso that they may have them always at hand; for they believe that, when\nhandled, something of the secret virtue of the substance is absorbed\ninto the body. When struck, jade is thought to emit a peculiarly\nmelodious sound, which for the Chinese poet resembles the voice of the\nloved one; indeed, jade is termed the concentrated essence of love.\n\nFashioned into the form of a butterfly, a piece of jade acquires a\nspecial romantic significance in China, because of a Chinese legend\nwhich relates that a youth in his eager pursuit of a many-hued\nbutterfly made his way into the garden of a rich mandarin. Instead of\nbeing punished for his trespass, the youth\u2019s unceremonious visit led\nto his marriage with the mandarin\u2019s daughter. Hence the figure of a\nbutterfly is a symbol of successful love, and Chinese bridegrooms are\nwont to present jade butterflies to their fianc\u00e9es.\n\nA Chinese jade ornament constituting a child\u2019s amulet assumes a form\napproximating to that of a padlock. When this is attached to a child\u2019s\nneck, it is supposed to bind the little one to life and protect it\nfrom all danger in infantile diseases. A jade object of a different\nkind is sometimes used at nuptial feasts in China. This is a cup having\nthe form of a cock, and both bride and groom drink from it. The form\nof this vessel is accounted for by a legend to the effect that when a\nbeautiful white cock saw its young mistress, who had often petted it,\nthrow herself into a well in a transport of despair at the loss of her\nlover, the faithful fowl sought and found death in the same way, so as\nnot to be separated from its mistress.\n\nAmong the splendid Chinese jade carvings of the Woodward Collection\nis a curious symbolic ornament carved out of the rare _fei-ts\u2019ui\ny\u00fc_, or \u201ckingfisher-green jade,\u201d a rich emerald green jadeite with\ntranslucent green shading. This ornament, executed in the beginning of\nthe eighteenth century and believed to be a product of the Imperial\nJade Works in Peking, figures the natural form of a so-called\n\u201chand-of-Buddha\u201d citron, the finger-like protuberances of the fruit\nsuggesting this strangely fanciful name. The Chinese regard this as a\nmost felicitous emblem, denoting at once a long life and abundance of\nriches for its enjoyment. In the present carving the figure of a bat\nclinging to the foliage enveloping the fruit constitutes an added omen\nof good fortune, the Chinese character _fu_ signifying at once \u201cbat\u201d\nand \u201chappiness,\u201d another proof of what we are prone to call Chinese\nqueerness, for with the superstitious of our race the bat is always\nlooked upon as especially ill-omened.[105]\n\nIt is a well-known fact that many analogies have been found between\nthe customs, usages, and products of the more civilized aborigines of\nthe New World and those of the ancient Egyptians. Another instance is\noffered by the custom of placing a piece of _chalchihuitl_ (jade?) or\nof some other green stone in the mouth of a noble, after his death,\nand calling this his heart. Among the lower classes a _texaxoctli_, a\nstone of small value, was used for the same purpose. We shall see that,\nin the Egyptian \u201cBook of the Dead,\u201d directions are given for putting a\nsemi-precious stone on or in a mummy, as a symbol, and designating this\nthe heart of the deceased person. For the use of a green stone for this\npurpose by the ancient Mexicans, Mrs. Zelia Nuttall finds a reason in\nthe two meanings of the Nahuatl word _xoxouhqui-yollotl_, which is used\nto signify a \u201cfree man,\u201d the literal meaning being a \u201cfresh or green\nheart.\u201d Hence, the stone was a symbol of the rank of the deceased as\nwell as of his heart.[106] The fact that jade celts have been found cut\ninto several pieces is taken to indicate the high value placed upon\nthis material; for it has been conjectured by Dr. Earle Flint, that a\nliving chief would cut a piece from the jade he wore as a sign of his\nrank, in order to provide a suitable ornament or amulet for a dead\nkinsman.\n\nTo certain of the Chinese \u201ctomb-jades\u201d\u2014that is, jade amulets deposited\nwith the dead\u2014has been given the name _han-y\u00fc_, or \u201cmouth-jade,\u201d\nbecause these amulets, supposed to afford protection to the dead, were\nplaced in their mouths. The Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York\ncontains a fine collection of 279 specimens of jade from Chinese tombs,\nfound within the past five or six years, and presented to the museum\nby Mr. Samuel F. Peters. In color these jades are not especially\nattractive, for the material has acquired a brownish stain, due to the\nproducts of decomposition of the body, and also to the absorption of\nsome of the chemical constituents of the other objects in the tomb,\nduring the long period of time, in many cases a thousand years or more,\nsince the bodies were consigned to their final resting place.\n\nSo multifarious are the uses to which jade is put by the Chinese, and\nso great is their admiration of its qualities, that they regard it as\nthe musical gem _par excellence_. A series of oblong pieces of jade, of\nthe same length and width, usually about 1.8 feet long and 1.35 feet\nwide, and numbering from 12 to 24, constitute a chime, the difference\nin the notes emitted by the material when sharply struck depending\nupon the varying thickness of the separate pieces. What is designated\nthe \u201cstone chime\u201d used in court and religious ceremonials, is composed\nof 16 undecorated stones, while a series known as the singers\u2019 chime\nconsists of from 12 to 24 pieces carved into fantastic shapes. This\nuse of jade for the production of musical sounds dates far back in\nthe Chinese annals. We are told that when Confucius was much troubled\nat the ill-success of his efforts to reform the Chinese morals of his\nday, he sought consolation in playing on the \u201cmusical stone.\u201d A peasant\nwho noted this in passing by, exclaimed, as he heard the sounds: \u201cFull\nindeed is the heart of him who beats the musical stone like that!\u201d[107]\n\nA jade ornament greatly favored by the Maoris of New Zealand bore\nthe name _hei-tiki_ (\u201ca carved image for the neck\u201d). The ornaments of\nthis class are very rude and grotesque representations of the human\nface or form, and were generally regarded as schematically figuring\nsome departed ancestor. The head sometimes slanted right or left,\nso that the eyes, which were very large and occasionally inlaid\nwith mother-of-pearl, were on an angle of forty-five degrees. These\nornaments were prized not only as memorials, but because, having\nbeen worn by successive ancestors, they were supposed to communicate\nsomething of the very being of those ancestors to such descendants as\nwere privileged to wear the treasured heirloom in their turn. In many\ncases, when the family was dying out, the last male member would leave\ndirections that his _hei-tiki_ should be buried with him, so that it\nmight not fall into the hands of strangers.[108]\n\nSo rare was this New Zealand jade, known to the Maoris as _punamu_\n(green-stone), that the aid of a _tohunga_, or wizard, was regarded\nas necessary to learn where it could be found. On setting forth on\na search for this material, the jade-seekers would take with them a\n_tohunga_, and when the party reached the region where jade was usually\nfound the _tohunga_ would retire to some solitary spot and would fall\ninto a trance. On awaking he would claim that the spirit of some\nperson, dead or living, had appeared to him and had directed to search\nin a particular place for the jade. He would then conduct the party\nto this place, where a larger or smaller piece of jade was invariably\nfound. Of course the wizard had previously assured himself of the\npresence of the stone in the place indicated.\n\nTo this jade was given the name of the man whose spirit had revealed\nits location, and in many cases the grotesque form given to the stone\nwas conceived to represent this man. We can easily understand the\nreverence accorded to the _hei-tikis_ when we consider that they\nwere not only prized as heirlooms, which had been handed down by the\nsuccessive heads of the family, but were also believed to have been\noriginally found in such a mysterious way.\n\nWhen the head of the family died, his _hei-tiki_ was generally buried\nwith his body, but was exhumed after a shorter or longer time by the\nnearest male relative. As we have noted, if no representative of the\nfamily remained, the heirloom was allowed to remain in the grave. The\nfact that tribal or intertribal feuds sometimes arose in regard to\nthe possession of a _hei-tiki_ serves to prove the peculiar virtues\nascribed to them.\n\nWhile there can be little doubt that the heirloom was supposed to\nrepresent, in a very general way, the person whose name it bore, the\nparticular form given it was largely determined by the natural shape\nof the mass, which was slowly and patiently fashioned into the form it\neventually acquired. Though this was mainly due to the imperfect means\nof which the artist disposed, there was probably a conviction that\nthe form of the natural stone was not the result of accident, but was\nin itself significant and required only to be rendered more clear and\ndefinite. The fabrication of the _hei-tikis_ of the Maoris is said to\nhave ceased in the early part of the last century. The greater number\nof those that have been collected in New Zealand appear to have been\nmade from one hundred to one hundred and fifty years ago.[109]\n\n\nJasper\n\nThe jasper had great repute in ancient times as a rain-bringer, and\nthe fourth century author of \u201cLithica\u201d celebrates this quality in the\nfollowing lines:[110]\n\n    The gods propitious hearken to his prayers,\n    Whoe\u2019er the polished grass-green jasper wears;\n    His parched glebe they\u2019ll satiate with rain,\n    And send for showers to soak the thirsty plain.\n\nEvidently the green hue of this translucent stone suggested its\nassociation with the verdure of the fields in an even closer degree\nthan was the case with transparent green stones such as the emerald,\netc. Another early authority, Damigeron, mentions this belief, and\nstates that only when properly consecrated would the jasper do service\nin this way.[111] Jasper was also credited in the fourth century with\nthe virtue of driving away evil spirits and protecting those who wore\nit from the bites of venomous creatures.[112] An anonymous German\nauthor of the eleventh or twelfth century recommends the use of this\nstone for the cure of snake bites, and states that if it be placed upon\nthe bitten part the matter will come out from the wound.[113] Here the\ncure is operated, not by the absorbent quality of the stone, but by its\nsupposed power to attract poison or venom to itself, thus removing the\ncause of disease.\n\nA popular etymology of the Greek and Latin name for jasper is reported\nby Bartolom\u00e6us Anglicus, who writes that \u201cin the head of an adder that\nhyght Aspis is founde a lytyl stone that is called Jaspis.\u201d The same\nauthority pronounces this stone to be of \u201cwunder vertue,\u201d and says\nthat \u201cit hath as many vertues as dyvers coloures and veines.\u201d[114]\nThis is fully in accord with tradition, for, as color was at least as\nimportant as chemical composition in determining the talismanic or\ntherapeutic worth of the different stones, the great variety of colors\nand markings in the different jaspers naturally indicated their use in\nmany different ways.\n\n\nJet\n\nJet has been found among the pal\u00e6olithic remains in the caves of the\n\u201cKesslerloch,\u201d near Thayngen, Canton Schaffhausen, Switzerland. The\nmaterial was evidently derived from the deposits in W\u00fcrtemberg and\nwas shaped by flint chips. Quite possibly jet, as well as amber, was\nalready regarded as possessing a certain talismanic virtue. Such\nornaments, when worn, were believed to become a part of the very\nbody and soul of the wearer, and were therefore to be guarded with\njealous care.[115] In the pal\u00e6olithic cave-deposits of Belgium also,\njet appears, the supply being in this instance derived from northern\nLorraine. The fragments had been rounded and pierced through the\ncentre.[116] This indicates their use as parts of a necklace or as\npendants. Necklaces, bracelets, and rings were especially favored for\nthe wearing of talismanic gems, since the stones could easily be so set\nthat they would come in direct contact with the skin.\n\nJet was one of the materials used by the Pueblo Indians for their\namulets. An exceptionally well-executed figure of a frog made of\nthis material was found in Pueblo Bonito, in 1896, by Mr. Pepper.\nThe representation is much more realistic than is the case in the\nother figures of this type from this region. Turquoise eyes have been\ninserted in the head of the figure and a band of turquoise surrounds\nthe neck.[117]\n\n\nLapis-Lazuli\n\nBoth in Babylonia and in Egypt, lapis-lazuli was very highly valued,\nand this is shown by the use of its Assyrian name (_uknu_) in poetic\nmetaphor. Thus, in a hymn to the moon-god Sin, he is addressed as the\n\u201cstrong bull, great of horns, perfect in form, with long flowing beard,\nbright as lapis-lazuli.\u201d[118] This may remind us of the \u201chyacinthine\nlocks\u201d of classical literature.\n\nLapis-lazuli, \u201ca blue stone with little golden spots,\u201d was a cure for\nmelancholy and for the \u201cquartern fever,\u201d an intermittent fever\nreturning each third day, or each fourth day counting in the previous\nattack.[119]\n\n[Illustration: JASPER PENDANT.\n\nAztec Mexican. Used to stanch blood.]\n\n[Illustration: PIECE OF NATURAL LOADSTONE.\n\nUsed in sixteenth century for medicinal purposes.]\n\n[Illustration: ARAGONITE PENDANT.\n\nUsed for votive purposes in Armenia. Field Museum, Chicago.]\n\n\nLoadstone\n\nWe have the authority of Plato (Ion, 533 D) for the statement that the\nword _magnetis_ was first applied to the loadstone by the tragic poet\nEuripides (480-405 B.C.), the more usual name being \u201cthe Heraclean\nstone.\u201d These designations refer to two places in Lydia, Magnesia and\nHerakleia, where the mineral was found.[120] Pliny states, on the\nauthority of Nicander, that a certain Magnes, a shepherd, discovered\nthe mineral on Mount Ida, while pasturing his flock, because the nails\nof his shoes clung to a piece of it.[121]\n\nWe are told by Pliny that Ptolemy Philadelphus (309-247 B.C.), planning\nto erect a temple in honor of his sister and wife Arsino\u00eb, called in\nthe aid of Chirocrates, an Alexandrian architect. The latter engaged\nto place therein an iron statue of Arsino\u00eb which should appear to hang\nin mid-air without support. However, both the Egyptian king and his\narchitect died before the design could be realized.[122] This story of\nan image held in suspense by means of powerful magnets set in the floor\nand roof, and sometimes also in the walls of a temple, is repeated in\na variety of forms by early writers. Of course, there was no real\nfoundation for such tales, as the thing is altogether impracticable.\n\nThe Roman poet Claudian (fifth century A.D.) relates that the priests\nof a certain temple, in order to offer a dramatic spectacle to the eyes\nof the worshippers, caused two statues to be executed,\u2014one of Mars in\niron, and another of Venus in loadstone. At a special festival these\nstatues were placed near to each other, and the loadstone drew the iron\nto itself. Claudian vividly describes this:\n\n    The priests prepare a marriage feast.\n    Behold a marvel! Instant to her arms\n    Her eager husband Cythereia charms;\n    And ever mindful of her ancient fires,\n    With amorous breath his martial breast inspires;\n    Lifts the loved weight, close round his helmet twines\n    Her loving arms, and close embraces joins,\n    Drawn by the mystic influence from afar.\n    Flies to the wedded gem the God of War.\n    The Magnet weds the Steel: the sacred rites\n    Nature attends, and th\u2019 heavenly pair unites.[123]\n\nThere was current as early as the fourth century a curious belief that\na piece of loadstone, if placed beneath the pillow of a sleeping wife,\nwould act as a touchstone of her virtue. This first appears in the\nAlexandrian poem \u201cLithica,\u201d and it has been thus quaintly Englished by\na fourteenth century translator:\n\n Also magnes is in lyke wyse as adamas; yf it be sett under the heed\n of a chaste wyfe, it makyth her sodenly to beclyppe [embrace] her\n husbonde; & yf she be a spowse breker, she shall meve her oute of the\n bed sodenly by drede of fantasy.[124]\n\nThe same writer attempts an explanation of the popular fancy that when\npowdered loadstone was thrown upon coals in the four corners of a\nhouse, the inmates would feel as though the house were falling down;\nof this he says: \u201cThat seemynge is by mevynge [moving] that comyth by\ntornynge of the brayn.\u201d[125]\n\nIn classical writings the fascination exercised by a very beautiful\nwoman is sometimes likened to the attractive power of the loadstone,\nas notably by Lucian,[126] who says that if such a woman looks at a\nman she draws him to her, and leads him whither she will, just as the\nloadstone draws the iron. To the same idea is probably due the fact\nthat in several languages the name given to the loadstone indicates\nthat its peculiar power was conceived to be a manifestation of the\nsympathy or love of one mineral substance for another. This is commonly\nbelieved to be the sense in which we should understand the French\ndesignation _aimant_, namely, as the participle of the verb _aimer_,\n\u201cto love\u201d; however, some etymologists prefer to derive the word from\n_adamas_, sometimes used in Low Latin for the loadstone, although\nproperly signifying the diamond. It is certainly worthy of note that in\ntwo such dissimilar languages as Sanskrit and Chinese, the influence of\nthis idea appears in the names given to the loadstone. In Sanskrit the\nword is _chumbaka_ or \u201cthe kisser,\u201d and in Chinese _t\u2019 su shi_, or \u201cthe\nloving-stone.\u201d Chin T\u2019sang Khi, a Chinese author of the eighth century,\nwrote that \u201cthe loadstone attracts iron just as does a tender mother\nwhen she calls her children to her.\u201d[127]\n\nA rich growth of Mohammedan legends grew up about the exploits of\nAlexander the Great, a striking example being given on another page,\nand in one of them it is related that the Greek world-conqueror\nprovided his soldiers with loadstones as a defence against the wiles\nof the jinns, or evil spirits; the loadstone, as well as magnetized\niron, being regarded as a sure defence against enchantments and all the\nmachinations of malignant spirits.[128]\n\nIn the East Indies it is said that a king should have a seat of\nloadstone at his coronation; probably because the magnetic influence\nof the stone was supposed to attract power, favor, and gifts to the\nsovereign. But it is not only in the Orient that magnetite is prized\nfor its talismanic powers, for even in some parts of our own land this\nbelief is still prevalent. Large quantities of loadstone are found at\nMagnet Cove, Arkansas, and it is estimated that from one to three tons\nare sold annually to the negroes to be used in the Voodoo ceremonies as\nconjuring stones. The material has been found in land used for farming\npurposes, and many pieces have been turned up in ploughing for corn;\nthese vary from the size of a pea to masses weighing from ten to twenty\npounds. They occur in a reddish-brown, sticky soil; their surface is\nsmooth and brown and they have the appearance of water-worn pebbles.\nIn July, 1887, an interesting case was tried in Macon, Georgia, where\na negro woman sued a conjuror to recover five dollars which she had\npaid him for a piece of loadstone to serve as a charm to bring back\nher wandering husband. As the market value of this mineral was only\nseventy-five cents a pound, and the piece was very small, weighing but\na few ounces, the judge ordered that the money should be refunded.[129]\n\n\nMalachite\n\nFor some reason not easy to fathom, malachite was considered to be a\ntalisman peculiarly appropriate for children. If a piece of this stone\nwere attached to an infant\u2019s cradle, all evil spirits were held aloof\nand the child slept soundly and peacefully.[130] In some parts of\nGermany, malachite shared with turquoise the repute of protecting the\nwearer from danger in falling, and it also gave warning of approaching\ndisaster by breaking into several pieces.[131] This material was well\nknown to the ancient Egyptians, malachite mines having been worked\nbetween Suez and Sinai as early as 4000 B.C.\n\nThe appropriate design to be engraved upon malachite was the image of\nthe sun. Such a gem became a powerful talisman and protected the wearer\nfrom enchantments, from evil spirits, and from the attacks of venomous\ncreatures.[132] The sun, as the source of all light, was generally\nregarded as the deadly enemy of necromancers, witches, and demons, who\ndelighted in the darkness and feared nothing more than the bright light\nof day.\n\n\nMoonstone\n\nThe moonstone is believed to bring good fortune and is regarded as a\nsacred stone in India. It is never displayed for sale there, except on\na yellow cloth, as yellow is an especially sacred color. As a gift for\nlovers the moonstone takes a high rank, for it is believed to arouse\nthe tender passion, and to give lovers the power to read in the future\nthe fortune, good or ill, that is in store for them. To gain this\nknowledge, however, the stone must be placed in the mouth while the\nmoon is full.[133]\n\nAntoine Mizauld[134] tells us of a selenite or moonstone owned by a\nfriend of his, a great traveller. This stone, about the size of the\ngold piece known as the gold noble, but somewhat thicker, indicated\nthe waxing and waning of the moon by a certain white point or mark\nwhich grew larger or smaller as did the moon. Mizauld relates that to\nconvince himself of the truth of this he obtained possession of the\nstone for one lunar month, during which time he sedulously observed\nit. The white mark first appeared at the top. It was like a small\nmillet-seed, increasing in size and moving down on the stone, always\nassuming the form of the moon until, on reaching the middle, it was\nround like the full moon; then the mark gradually passed up again\nas the moon diminished. The owner declared that he had \u201cvowed and\ndedicated this stone to the young king [Edward VI], who was then highly\nesteemed because he had good judgment in regard to rare and precious\nthings.\u201d\n\n\nOnyx\n\nThe onyx, if worn on the neck, was said to cool the ardors of love,\nand Cardano relates that everywhere in India the stone was worn\nfor this purpose.[135] This belief is closely related to the idea\ncommonly associated with the onyx,\u2014namely, that it provoked discord\nand separated lovers. The close union and yet the strange contrast\nbetween the layers of black and white may have suggested this.\n\n[Illustration: OBSIDIAN MASK, FROM THE FAYOUM, EGYPT.\n\nTwelfth Dynasty. Late De Lesseps Collection. Collection of Mrs. Henry\nDraper. The obsidian is the typical stone of Mexico.]\n\n\nPyrites\n\nCrystals of iron pyrites (pyrite, native iron disulphide) are sometimes\nused as amulets by the North American Indians, and the belief in\ntheir magic power is attested by their presence in the outfit of\nmiscellaneous objects which the medicine-men use in the course of their\nincantations. Because these gleaming yellow crystals are occasionally\nmistaken for gold, the name \u201cfool\u2019s gold\u201d has been popularly bestowed\nupon them.[136]\n\n[Illustration: OBSIDIAN MIRROR, FROM OAXACA, MEXICO. NOW IN TROCAD\u00c9RO\nMUSEUM, PARIS.\n\nSee \u201cGems and Precious Stones of North America,\u201d by George Frederick\nKunz, New York, 1890, p. 299.]\n\nOf this material the ancient Mexicans made wonderful mirrors, one\nside being usually polished flat, while the other side was strongly\nconvex. Frequently this side was curiously carved with some symbolic\nrepresentation as appears in the case of a pyrite mirror of the Pinard\ncollection in the Trocad\u00e9ro, Paris.[137]\n\n\nRock-crystal\n\nThe popular belief in his time as to the origin of rock-crystal is\nvoiced by St. Jerome, when, using the words of Pliny, although not\nciting his authority, he says that it was formed by the congelation\nof water in dark caverns of the mountains, where the temperature\nwas intensely cold, so that, \u201cWhile a stone to the touch, it seems\nlike water to the eye.\u201d This belief was evidently due to the fact\nthat rock-crystal was so often found in mountain clefts and caverns.\nSymbolically, it signified that those within the portals of the Church\nshould keep themselves free from stain and have a pure faith.[138]\n\n[Illustration: ROCK-CRYSTAL SKULL, ANCIENT MEXICAN\n\nWeighing 475\u00bc oz. Troy. Now in the British Museum, London. From\n\u201cGems and Precious Stones of North America,\u201d by George Frederick Kunz,\nNew York, 1890, p. 285.]\n\nThe Chinese emperor Wu was devoted to the service of the gods and of\nthe immortal spirits. He built many edifices for religious purposes,\nand all the doors of these buildings were made of white rock-crystal,\nso that a flood of light poured into the interior. Although the Chinese\ntexts call this material rock-crystal, it is possible that the name was\napplied to glass when that substance was but recently introduced into\nChina.[139]\n\nRegarding this same \u201crock-crystal\u201d a humorous tale is related.\nMuan-fen, a mandarin who had a great terror of draughts, was once\nreceived in the palace by one of the Chinese emperors. The doors of the\naudience chamber were of rock-crystal and were tightly closed, but,\nbecause of the transparency of the material, they seemed to be wide\nopen, and the emperor was greatly amused to note that Muan-fen was\nshivering with cold, although the temperature of the room was quite\ncomfortable.[140]\n\nAn exceptionally fine specimen of Aztec work is a skull carved out of\nrock-crystal. It weighs 475\u00bc ounces Troy, and measures 8\u00bc inches\nin width.\n\n\nRuby\n\nThe ruby has many names in Sanskrit, some of them clearly showing that\nit was more valued as a gem by the Hindus than any other. For instance,\nit is called _ratnaraj_, \u201cking of precious stones,\u201d and _ratnan\u00e2yaka_,\n\u201cleader of precious stones;\u201d another name, applied to a particular\nshade of ruby is _padmar\u00e2ga_, \u201cred as the lotus.\u201d[141]\n\nThe glowing hue of the ruby suggested the idea that an inextinguishable\nflame burned in this stone. From this fancy came the assertion that the\ninner fire could not be hidden, as it would shine through the clothing\nor through any material that might be wrapped around the stone.[142]\nIf cast into the water the ruby communicated its heat to the liquid,\ncausing it to boil. The dark and the star rubies were called \u201cmale\u201d\nstones, the others, more especially, however, those of lighter hue,\nbeing considered as \u201cfemale\u201d stones. All varieties served to preserve\nthe bodily and mental health of the wearer, for they removed evil\nthoughts, controlled amorous desires, dissipated pestilential vapors,\nand reconciled disputes.[143]\n\nIn the \u201cLapidaire\u201d of Philippe de Valois, it is said that \u201cthe books\ntell us the beautiful clear and fine ruby is the lord of stones; it is\nthe gem of gems, and surpasses all other precious stones in virtue.\u201d In\nthe time of Marbodus (end of the eleventh century A.D.) the same proud\nplace was assigned to the sapphire. The ruby is spoken of in similar\nterms in the \u201cLapidaire en Vers,\u201d where it is called \u201cthe most precious\nof the twelve stones God created when He created all creatures\u201d. By\nChrist\u2019s command the ruby was placed on Aaron\u2019s neck, \u201cthe ruby, called\nthe lord of gems; the highly prized, the dearly loved ruby, so fair\nwith its gay color.\u201d[144]\n\nAs with diamonds, rubies also were divided by the Hindus into four\ncastes. The true Oriental ruby was a Brahmin; the rubicelle, a\nKshatriya; the spinel, a Vaisya, and lastly, the balas-ruby, a Sudra.\nThe possession of a _padmar\u00e2ga_, or Brahmin ruby, conferred perfect\nsafety upon the owner, and as long as he owned this precious stone he\ncould dwell without fear in the midst of enemies and was shielded\nfrom adverse fortune. However, great care had to be taken to preserve\nthis ruby of the first class from contact with inferior specimens,\nas its virtue would thereby be contaminated, and its power for good\ncorrespondingly diminished.[145]\n\nThe many talismanic virtues of the ruby are noted in the fourteenth\ncentury treatise attributed to Sir John Mandeville.[146] Here the\nfortunate owner of a brilliant ruby is assured that he will live in\npeace and concord with all men, that neither his land nor his rank will\nbe taken from him, and that he will be preserved from all perils. The\nstone would also guard his house, his fruit-trees, and his vineyards\nfrom injury by tempests. All the good effects were most surely secured\nif the ruby, set in ring, bracelet, or brooch, were worn on the left\nside.\n\nThe gorgeous ruby, the favorite gem of Burma, where the finest\nspecimens are found, is not only valued for its beauty, but is also\nbelieved to confer invulnerability. To attain this end, however, it is\nnot thought to be sufficient to wear these stones in a ring or other\npiece of jewelry, but the stone must be inserted in the flesh, and thus\nbecome, so to speak, a part of its owner\u2019s body. Those who in this way\nbear about with them a ruby, confidently believe that they cannot be\nwounded by spear, sword, or gun.[147] As it is often remarked that the\nmost daring and reckless soldiers pass unscathed through all the perils\nof war, we can understand that this superstition may sometimes appear\nto be verified.\n\n\nSapphire\n\nThe sapphire is noted as a regal gem by Damigeron, who asserts that\nkings wore it about their necks as a powerful defence from harm. The\nstone preserved the wearer from envy and attracted divine favor.[148]\nFor royal use, sapphires were set in bracelets and necklaces, and\nthe sacred character of the stone was attested by the tradition\nthat the Law given to Moses on the Mount was engraved on tablets of\nsapphire.[149] While we should probably translate here \u201clapis-lazuli\u201d\ninstead of \u201csapphire,\u201d all such passages were later understood as\nreferring to the true sapphire, which is not found in pieces of the\nrequisite size.\n\nIn the twelfth century, the Bishop of Rennes lavishes encomiums upon\nthis beautiful stone. It is quite natural that this writer should lay\nespecial stress upon the use of the sapphire for the adornment of\nrings, for it was in his time that it was beginning to be regarded\nas the stone most appropriate for ecclesiastical rings. The sapphire\nwas like the pure sky, and mighty Nature had endowed it with so great\na power that it might be called sacred and the gem of gems. Fraud\nwas banished from its presence and necromancers honored it more than\nany other stone, for it enabled them to hear and to understand the\nobscurest oracles.[150]\n\n[Illustration: SAPPHIRE RING WITH ENCIRCLING DIAMONDS.\n\nPresented to John Cardinal Farley on the occasion of his elevation to\nthe cardinalate.]\n\nThe traditional virtue of the sapphire as an antidote against poison\nis noted by Bartolom\u00e6us Anglicus, who claims to have seen a test of\nits power, somewhat similar to that recorded by Ahmed Teifashi of\nthe emerald. In John of Trevisa\u2019s version this passage reads as\nfollows:[151]\n\n His vertue is contrary to venym, and quencheth it every deale. And yf\n you put an attercoppe[152] in a boxe and hold a very saphyre of Inde\n at the mouth of the boxe ony whyle, by vertue thereof the attercoppe\n is overcome & dyeth as it were sodenly, as Dyasc. sayth [pseudo\n Dioscorides]. And this same I have assayed oft in many and dyvers\n places. His vertue kepeth and savyth the syght, & clearyth eyen of\n fylthe wythout ony greyf.\n\nVoicing the general belief that the sapphire was endowed with power\nto influence spirits, Bartolom\u00e6us says that this stone was a great\nfavorite with those who practised necromancy, and he adds: \u201cAlso\nwytches love well this stone, for they wene that they may werke certen\nwondres by vertue of this stone.\u201d[153]\n\nThere was in the South Kensington Museum, in London, a splendid\nsapphire of a peculiar tint. In the daylight it shows a beautiful rich\nblue color, while by artificial light it has a violet hue and resembles\nan amethyst. In the eighteenth century this stone was in the collection\nof Count de Walicki, a Polish nobleman, and Mme. de Genlis used it as\nthe theme of one of her stories, entitled \u201cLe Saphire Merveilleux.\u201d\nHere the sapphire is used as a test of female virtue, the change of\ncolor indicating unfaithfulness on the part of the wearer. If the owner\nof the stone wished to prove that the subject of the test was innocent,\nshe was made to wear the sapphire for three hours of daylight; but in\nthe opposite case the test was so timed that it began in daylight and\nended when the candles or lamps had been lighted. This sapphire, still\nknown as the \u201cSaphire Merveilleux,\u201d was for a time in the collection of\nthe Duke of Orleans, who bore the name of Philippe Egalit\u00e9 during the\nFrench Revolution.\n\nThe star sapphire is that variety of sapphire in which, when the stone\nis cut and rounded off horizontal with the dome of the crystal, the\nlight is condensed across the three lines of crystalline interference.\nThree cross lines produce a star which moves as a source of light, or\nas it is moved from the source of light. Star sapphires very rarely\npossess the deep blue color of the fine blue sapphire; generally the\ncolor is somewhat impure, or of a milky-blue, or else a blue-gray, or\nsometimes almost a pure white. The blue-gray, gray, and white stones\nfrequently show a much more distinct star, possibly from the fact that\nthere are more inclusions between the layers of the crystals than with\nthe darker blue stones, as it is the set of interference bands that\nproduces the peculiar light. Just as the eye agate was used in some\ncountries to preserve against the Evil Eye, so the moving star is\nbelieved by the Cingalese to serve as a protection and a guard against\nwitchcraft of all kinds.\n\nThe great Oriental traveller, Sir Richard Francis Burton, had a large\nstar sapphire or asteria, as it was called. He referred to it as his\ntalisman, for it always brought him good horses and prompt attention\nwherever he went; in fact, it was only in those places where he\nreceived proper attention that he would show it to the natives, a favor\nthey greatly appreciated, because the sight of the stone was believed\nto bring good luck. The fame of Burton\u2019s asteria travelled ahead of\nhim, and it served him well as a guiding-star. De Boot, writing in the\nseventeenth century, states that such a stone was called Siegstein\n(victory-stone) among the Germans.\n\n[Illustration: Rubellite from the Shan Mountains,\nChina. Used as an idol\u2019s eye in India\n\nStar of India\u2014Star Sapphire\n\nEngraved Emerald\u2014East Indian Carving\u201417th Century\n\nGEMS FROM THE MORGAN-TIFFANY COLLECTION.]\n\nThe remarkable asteria, known as the \u201cStar of India,\u201d in the\nMorgan-Tiffany Collection in the American Museum of Natural History,\nhas a more or less indefinite historic record of some three centuries,\nbut after its many wanderings it has now found a worthy resting-place\nin the great Museum. Its weight is 543 carats.[154]\n\nThe asteria, or star sapphire, might be called a \u201cStone of Destiny,\u201d\nas the three cross-bars which traverse it are believed to represent\nFaith, Hope, and Destiny. As the stone is moved, or the light changes,\na living star appears. As a guiding gem, warding off ill omen and\nthe Evil Eye, the star-sapphire is worn for the same reasons as were\nthe _oculus mundi_ and the _oculus Beli_. One of the most unique of\ntalismanic stones, it is said to be so potent that it continues to\nexercise its good influence over the first wearer even when it has\npassed into other hands.\n\n\nSard\n\nThe sard was regarded as a protection against incantations and sorcery,\nand was believed to sharpen the wits of the wearer, rendering him\nfearless, victorious, and happy.[155] The red hue of this stone was\nsupposed to neutralize the malign influence of the dark onyx, driving\naway the bad dreams caused by the latter and dispelling the melancholy\nthoughts it inspired.\n\n\nSerpentine\n\nThe Italian peasants of to-day believe that pebbles of green serpentine\nafford protection from the bites of venomous creatures. These stones\nare usually green with streaks or veins of white, and the name was\nderived from their fancied resemblance to a serpent\u2019s skin. In addition\nto their prophylactic powers, if any one has been bitten by such a\ncreature, the stone, when applied to the wound, is supposed to draw out\nthe poison. Here, as in the case of coral, the hand of man must not\nhave shaped the amulet; it should be in its natural state. As a general\nrule, however, the belief that the touch of any iron instrument, such\nas the tool of the gem-cutter, destroys the magic efficacy of the\nsubstance, is less firmly held in regard to stones than in reference to\ncoral.[156]\n\n\nTopaz\n\nSee Chrysolite.\n\n\nTurquoise\n\nWhile there was a tendency to attribute the virtues originally ascribed\nto one particular stone to others of the same or similar color and\nappearance, certain stones were regarded as possessing special virtues\nnot commonly attributed to others. A notable instance of this is the\nquality supposed to inhere in the turquoise. This stone was known in\nEgypt from a very early period and is later described by Pliny under\nthe name of _callais_. For Pliny, and for all those who derived their\ninformation from him or from the sources he used, the turquoise only\nparticipated in the virtues assigned to all blue or greenish-blue\nstones; but from the thirteenth century, when the name turquoise was\nfirst employed, we read that the stone possessed the power to protect\nthe wearer from injury by falling, more especially from horseback;\nlater, this was extended to cover falls from a building or over a\nprecipice. A fourteenth century authority, the \u201cLapidaire\u201d of Sir\nJohn Mandeville, states that the turquoise protected horses from the\nill-effects resulting from drinking cold water when overheated by\nexertion, and it is said that the Turks often attached these stones\nto the bridles and frontlets of their horses as amulets. They are\nalso so used in Samarcand and Persia. We might therefore be justified\nin supposing that the turquoise was originally used in the East as a\n\u201chorse-amulet,\u201d and the belief in its power to protect from falls may\nhave arisen from the idea that it rendered the horse more sure-footed\nand enduring. As the horse was often regarded as a symbol of the sun\nin its rapid course through the blue heavens, the celestial hue of the\nturquoise may have caused it to be associated in some way with the\nhorse. We can only hazard this as a plausible conjecture.\n\nProbably the earliest notice of the peculiar superstition in regard to\nthe turquoise\u2014namely, that it preserves the wearer from injury in case\nof falling\u2014is contained in Volmar\u2019s thirteenth century \u201cSteinbuch,\u201d\nwhere we read:\n\n Whoever owns the true turquoise set in gold will not injure any of his\n limbs when he falls, whether he be riding or walking, so long as he\n has the stone with him.[157]\n\nAnselmus de Boot, court physician of Emperor Rudolph II, tells a\nstory of a turquoise that, after being thirty years in the possession\nof a Spaniard, was offered for sale with the rest of the owner\u2019s\nproperty. Every one was amazed to find it had entirely lost its color;\nnevertheless De Boot\u2019s father bought it for a trifling sum. On his\nreturn home, however, ashamed to wear so mean-looking a gem, he gave it\nto his son, saying, \u201cSon, as the virtues of the turquoise are said to\nexist only when the stone has been given, I will try its efficacy by\nbestowing it upon thee.\u201d Little appreciating the gift, the recipient\nhad his arms engraved on it as though it had been only a common agate\nand wore it as a signet. He had scarcely worn it a month, however,\nbefore it resumed its pristine beauty and daily seemed to increase in\nsplendor. Could we accept this statement as true we would have here an\naltogether unique instance of the recovery by a turquoise of the blue\ncolor it had lost.\n\nNot long after, the powers of De Boot\u2019s turquoise were put to the test.\nAs he was returning to Bohemia from Padua, where he had just taken his\ndegree, he was forced to traverse a narrow and dangerous road at night.\nSuddenly his horse stumbled and threw him heavily to the ground, but,\nstrange to say, neither horse nor rider was injured by the fall. Next\nmorning, while washing his hands, De Boot remarked that about a quarter\nof his turquoise had broken away. Nevertheless the stone did not lose\nits virtue. Some time afterward, when the wearer was lifting a very\nheavy pole, he felt all at once a sharp pain in his side and heard\nhis ribs crack, so that he feared he had injured himself seriously.\nHowever, it turned out that he had not broken any bones but had simply\nstrained himself; but, on looking at his turquoise, he saw that it had\nagain broken into two pieces.[158]\n\n[Illustration: TURQUOISE NECKLACE, THIBET.\n\nField Museum, Chicago.]\n\nA singular virtue ascribed to the turquoise was that of striking the\nhour correctly, if the stone were suspended from a thread held between\nthe thumb and index-finger in such a way that a slight vibration would\nmake the stone strike against the side of a glass. De Boot states that\nhe made the experiment successfully, but he very sensibly explains the\napparent wonder by the unconscious effect of the mind on the body. The\nexpectation that the stone was going to strike a certain number of\ntimes induced an involuntary movement of the hand.[159]\n\nThe turquoise seems to have been worn almost exclusively by men at the\nbeginning of the seventeenth century, for De Boot, writing in 1609,\nsaid that it was so highly regarded by men that no man considered\nhis hand to be well adorned unless he wore a fine turquoise. Women,\nhowever, rarely wore this gem.[160] This custom was much in vogue among\nthe Englishmen who travelled in the Orient, until a score of years ago.\n\nThe Persians fully appreciate the beauty and power of this, their\nnational stone, and they have a saying that to escape evil and attain\ngood fortune one must see the reflection of the new moon either on the\nface of a friend, on a copy of the Koran, or on a turquoise,[161] thus\nranking this stone with two most precious things, a friend and the\nsource and warrant of religion. Possibly we should take this proverbial\nsaying to indicate that whoever has a true friend, a copy of the sacred\nvolume or a turquoise will be preserved from harm.\n\nThe turquoise of the Los Cerillos mines in New Mexico is rudely\nextracted by building large fires at the base of the rock until it\nbecomes heated, when cold water is dashed over it, the sharp change of\ntemperature splitting up the rock. Some of the fragmentary material\nthus secured is worked up in the region into heart-shaped ornaments, or\namulets, locally called malacates. The religious veneration with which\nmany of the New Mexico Indians still regard the turquoise was noted\nby Major Hyde, when he explored the region in 1880, for some Pueblo\nIndians from Santo Domingo, New Mexico, expressed strong disapproval of\nhis action in extracting turquoise from the old mine, as they looked\nupon this as a sacred stone which should not pass into the possession\nof those whose Saviour was not a Montezuma.[162]\n\nThe ruins called Los Muertos, situated nine miles from Tempe, Arizona,\nhave furnished a peculiarly interesting amulet or fetish of Zu\u00f1i\nworkmanship. This is a seashell which has been coated with black pitch,\nin which are encrusted turquoises and garnets so disposed in mosaic as\nto represent clearly enough the figure of a toad, the sacred emblem of\nthe Zu\u00f1is.[163]\n\nThe sacred character with which this stone was invested is shown\nby the wealth of turquoise ornaments found in some of the burials,\nnotably in those of Pueblo Bonito, unearthed by Mr. George H. Pepper\nin 1896.[164] This is one of the Chaco Ca\u00f1on groups of ruins, in the\nnorthwestern part of New Mexico. In one case nearly nine thousand beads\nand pendants of turquoise were found on or about a single skeleton.\nThere was abundant evidence in the special care bestowed upon the\nburial that the deceased must have been a man of high rank, and the\ncondition of the skull plainly indicated that he had met a violent\ndeath. The 1980 beads found on the breast of the skeleton are believed\nto have been strung as a necklace, and the position of other masses of\nthese beads renders it probable that they had been used for bracelets\nor anklets, the strings having decayed and disappeared in the course of\ntime. The most interesting of the turquoise objects are, however, the\npendants worked into various forms designed to favor the entrance of\nsome guardian spirit into the stone. In this single burial were found\npendants shaped more or less roughly into the forms of a rabbit, a\nbird, an insect (?), a human foot and a shoe. Around another burial in\nthe same chamber were strewn nearly six thousand turquoise beads and\npendants.[165] In all 24,932 beads were found in these burials.\n\nAnother very interesting object from Pueblo Bonito, and one having\nprobably a special ceremonial use and value, is a turquoise\nbasket,\u2014that is to say, a cylindrical basket three inches in diameter\nand six inches long, originally made of slender splints with a coating\nof gum in which 1214 small pieces of turquoise have been set. These are\nvery closely set and form a complete mosaic covering for the object.\nThe legends of the Navahos contain allusions to \u201cturquoise jewel\nbaskets,\u201d and Mr. Pepper raises the question whether or no this can\nrefer to those made by the Pueblo Indians.[166]\n\nThe Apache name for the turquoise is _duklij_, which signifies either\na green or a blue stone, no distinction being made between the two\ncolors. This stone is highly prized for its talismanic virtues. Indeed\nthe possession of a turquoise was indispensable for a medicine-man,\nas without it he would not receive proper recognition. That some of\nthe powers of the thunder-stone were ascribed to the turquoise by\nthe tribes appears from the fancy that a man who could go to the end\nof a rainbow after a storm and search in the damp earth would find a\nturquoise. One of its supposed powers was to aid the warrior or hunter\nby assuring the accuracy of his aim, for if a turquoise were affixed\nto a gun or bow the shot sped from the weapon would go straight to the\nmark.[167]\n\nA lady prominent in the London world is said to possess the power\nof restoring to their pristine hue turquoises that have grown pale.\nAccording to report, this lady is often called upon to use her peculiar\ngift by friends whose turquoises have faded.[168] While the improvement\nsupposed to be noted may be more imaginary than real in many cases,\nthere is little doubt that this stone is exceptionally sensitive to the\naction of certain emanations, and may, at times, be influenced by the\nwearer\u2019s general state of health. The writer believes that a turquoise,\nlike an egg, can never be restored to its original state.\n\n\n\n\nIV\n\nOn the Use of Engraved and Carved Gems as Talismans\n\n\nThe virtue believed to be inherent in precious stones was thought to\ngain an added potency when the stone was engraved with some symbol\nor figure possessing a special sacredness, or denoting and typifying\na special quality. This presupposes a considerable development of\ncivilization, since the art of engraving on precious stones offers many\nmechanical difficulties and thus requires a high degree of artistic and\nmechanical skill. It is true that the earliest engraved stones, the\nBabylonian cylinders and the Egyptian scarabs, were both designed to\nserve an eminently practical purpose as well, namely, that of seals;\nbut in a great number of instances these primitive seals were looked\nupon as endowed with talismanic power, and were worn on the person as\ntalismans.\n\nThe scarab, so highly favored by the Egyptians as an ornamental form,\nis a representation of the _scarab\u00e6us sacer_, the typical genus of the\nfamily _Scarab\u00e6id\u00e6_. They are usually black, but occasionally show a\nfine play of metallic colors. After gathering up a clump of dung for\nthe reception of the eggs, the insect rolls this along, using the hind\nlegs to propel it, until the material, at first soft and of irregular\nform, becomes hardened and almost perfectly round. A curious symbolism\ninduced the Egyptians to find in this beetle an emblem of the world of\nfatherhood and of man. The round ball wherein the eggs were deposited\ntypified the world, and, as the Egyptians thought that the scarab\u00e6i\nwere all males, they especially signified the male principle in\ngeneration, becoming types of fatherhood and man. At the same time, as\nonly full-grown beetles were observed, it was believed these creatures\nrepresented a regeneration or reincarnation, since it was not realized\nthat the eggs or larval and pupa stages had anything to do with the\ngeneration of the beetle. Thus the scarab was used as a symbol of\nimmortality.\n\nWhile, however, this was the popular view, it seems unlikely that such\nclose observers as were the more cultured Egyptians should have been\nentirely unfamiliar with the real genesis of the _Scarab\u00e6us sacer_;\nbut, in this case also, there would have been no difficulty in finding\nit emblematic of immortality in the various stages through which it\npassed. The larval stage might well signify the mortal life; the pupa\nstage, the intermediate period represented by the mummy, with which the\nsoul was conceived to be vaguely connected, in spite of its wanderings\nthrough the nether-world; and, lastly, the fully developed beetle\ncould be regarded as a type of the rebirth into everlasting life,\nwhen the purified and perfected soul again animated the original and\ntransfigured form in a mysterious resurrection.\n\nScarabs are frequently engraved with the hieroglyph \u2625(_anch_, \u201clife\u201d)\nand [hieroglyph] (_ha_, \u201cincrease of power\u201d). The emblem of stability\n[hieroglyph] (_tet_) is also employed, as well as many others. In\naddition to these simple symbols, many scarabs bear legends supposed\nto render them exceptionally luck-bringing. The following are\ncharacteristic specimens.[169]\n\n[3 hieroglyphs] _maat ankh neb_, \u201cLord of Truth and Life.\u201d\n\n[4 hieroglyphs] \u201cabounding in graces\u201d (very deeply cut as a seal).\n\n\u201cMay thy name be established; mayst thou have a son.\u201d\n\n[2 hieroglyphs] (within ornamental border), \u201cgood stability.\u201d\n\n[3 hieroglyphs] _ikht neb nefer_, \u201cAll good things.\u201d\n\n(Inlaid). \u201cA good day\u201d (a holiday).\n\n\u201cA mother is a truly good thing\u201d or \u201cTruth is a good Mother.\u201d\n\nThe scarab, for the Egyptians a type of the rising sun and hence of\nthe renewal of life after death, was copied by the Ph\u0153nicians from\nthe Egyptian types and modified in various ways to suit the religious\nfancies of the various lands to which they bore the products of their\nart. Much of the original significance of this symbol must have been\nlost; probably in many cases little was left but a vague idea that an\namulet of this form would bring good luck to the wearer and guard from\nharm.\n\nFuneral scarabs were often made of jasper, amethyst, lapis-lazuli,\nruby, or carnelian, with the names of gods, kings, priests, officials,\nor private persons engraved on the base; occasionally monograms or\nfloral devices were engraved. Sometimes the base of the scarab was\nheart-shaped and at others the scarab was combined with the \u201cutat,\u201d or\neye of Horus, and also with the frog, typifying revivification. Set in\nrings they were placed on the fingers of the dead, or else, wrapped in\nlinen bandages, they rested on the heart of the deceased, a type of\nthe sun which rose each day to renewed life. They were symbols of the\nresurrection of the body.[170]\n\nSome of the Egyptian scarabs were evidently used as talismanic gifts\nfrom one friend to another. Two such scarabs are in the collection of\nthe Metropolitan Museum of Art in New York. One bears the inscription\n\u201cMay Ra grant you a happy New Year,\u201d the text of the other reading as\nfollows: \u201cMay your name be established, may you have a son,\u201d and \u201cMay\nyour house flourish every day.\u201d It is a curious fact that the modern\ngreeting \u201cHappy New Year\u201d was current in Egypt probably three thousand\nyears ago.[171]\n\nOn the Egyptian inscribed scarabs used as signets were engraved many\nof the symbols to which a talismanic virtue was attributed. The ur\u00e6us\nserpent, signifying death, is sometimes associated with the knot, the\nso-called _ankh_ symbol, denoting life. Often the hieroglyph for _nub_,\ngold, appears; this symbol is a necklace with pendant beads, showing\nthat gold beads must have been known in Egypt in the early days when\nthe hieroglyph for gold was first used. All these symbolic figures, of\nwhich a great number occur, served to impart to the signet a sacred and\nauspicious quality which communicated itself to the wearer, and even to\nthe impression made by the seal, this in its turn acquiring a certain\nmagic force. Few of us would be willing to confess to a belief in the\ninnate power of any symbol, but the suggestive power of a symbol is as\nreal to-day as it ever was. Any object that evokes a high thought or\nserves to emphasize a profound conviction really possesses a kind of\nmagical quality, since it is capable of causing an effect out of all\nproportion to its intrinsic worth or its material quality.\n\nMany scarabs and signets exist made of the artificial _cyanus_,\nwhich was an imitation lapis-lazuli made in Egypt. This was an\nalkaline silicate, colored a deep blue with carbonate of copper.\nOften a wonderful translucent or opaque blue glass was used. The\ngenuine lapis-lazuli was also used to a considerable extent for\nscarabs and cylinders, in Egypt and Assyria, and gems were also cut\nfrom it in imperial Roman times.[172] A notable instance of the use\nof lapis-lazuli in ancient Egypt was as the material for the image\nof Truth (_Ma_), which the Egyptian chief-justice wore on his neck,\nsuspended from a golden chain.[173]\n\nIn Roman times some of the legionaries are said to have worn rings set\nwith scarabs, for the reason that this figure was believed to impart\ngreat courage and vigor to the wearer.[174]\n\nThe Egyptian amulets of the earliest period, up to the XII dynasty\n(circa 2000 B.C.), differ considerably from those made and worn after\nthe beginning of the XVIII dynasty (1580 B.C.). Those of the earlier\nperiod are not numerous and present but a small number of types, animal\nforms or the heads of animals constituting the most favored models.\nThe precious stone materials are principally carnelian, beryl, and\namethyst. After the close of the so-called Hyksos period, the age\nduring which foreign kings ruled over Egypt, came the brilliant revival\nand development of Egyptian civilization that characterized the XVIII\ndynasty. Some of the old forms were entirely cast aside while others\nwere greatly modified in form and significance, the animal forms losing\nmuch of their fetichistic quality and coming to be more and more\nregarded as images of the multifarious divinities worshipped in this\nlater period. In many cases the animal type was entirely or partially\ndiscarded and the amulets figured the conventional types given to the\nvarious divinities. However, while some of these images were wholly\nhuman, many of them show a human body with an animal head. Various\nsymbolic designs were also favored, one believed to signify the blood\nof Isis having the form of a knot or tie. A frog fashioned out of\nlapis-lazuli and having eyes of gold is one of these amulets of the\nXVIII dynasty or later.\n\nAn interesting Egyptian talisman in the Louvre is engraved with a\ndesign representing Thothmes II seizing a lion by the tail and raising\nthe animal aloft; at the same time he brandishes in the other hand\na club, with which he is about to dash out the lion\u2019s brains. The\nEgyptian word _quen_, \u201cstrength,\u201d is engraved beneath the design and\nindicates that the virtue of the talisman was to increase the strength\nand courage of the wearer, the inscription being a kind of perpetual\ninvocation to the higher powers whose aid was sought.[175]\n\nThe children of Israel, when in the desert, were said to have engraved\nfigures on carnelian, \u201cjust as seals are engraved.\u201d[176] This\nstatement, repeated by many early writers, may perhaps have arisen from\nan identification of carnelian with the first stone of the breastplate,\nthe _odem_, unquestionably a red stone, and very possibly carnelian.\nThere can be no doubt that this was one of the first stones used for\nornamental purposes and for engraving, as a number of specimens have\nbeen preserved from early Egyptian times. Because of the cooling and\ncalming effect exercised by carnelian upon the blood, if worn on the\nneck or on the finger, it was believed to still all angry passions.[177]\n\nA class of amulets even older than the Egyptian scarabs is represented\nby the engraved Assyrio-Babylonian cylinders. There has been much\ndiscussion among scholars as to the original purpose for which these\ncylinders were made, some holding that they were exclusively employed\nas seals or signets, while others incline to the belief that many of\nthem were intended only for use as amulets or talismans.\n\nThese cylinders are perforated and were worn suspended from the neck or\nwrist, as is most frequently the case with talismans, and the engraved\ndesigns often represent religious or mythological subjects, the\naccompanying inscription merely consisting of the names of the gods.\nCylinders of this type could not have been used as personal signets,\nand it is quite possible that Dr. Wiedemann is right in supposing\nthat their imprint on a document was considered to impart a certain\nmystic sanction to the agreement, and render the divinities or spirits\naccountable for the fulfilment of the contract.[178]\n\nThe oldest known form of seal is the cylinder. Babylonian and Assyrian\ncylinder-seals are known of a date as early as 4000 B.C. From the\nearliest period until 2500 B.C. they were made of black or green\nserpentine, conglomerate, diorite, and frequently of the central\ncore of a large conch shell from the Persian Gulf. From 2500 B.C.\nto 500 B.C. the cylindrical form was prevalent, and the materials\ninclude a brick-red ferruginous quartz, red hematite (an iron ore),\nand chalcedony, a beautiful variety of the last-named stone known as\nsapphirine being sometimes used. On the cylinders produced from 4000\nB.C. to 2500 B.C. the designs most frequently represent animal forms;\non those dating from 2500 B.C. to 500 B.C. are generally inscribed\nfive or six rows of cuneiform characters. Up to the last-named date\nthe work was all done by the sapphire point, and not by the wheel, and\nit is not until the fifth century B.C. that wheel work is apparent in\nany Babylonian or Assyrian stone-engraving. In the course of the sixth\ncentury B.C. the cylindrical seals became less frequent, and the tall\ncone-like seals came into use.[179]\n\nA new type makes its appearance about the fifth or sixth century B.C.,\nnamely, the scaraboid seal introduced from Egypt. From the third\ncentury B.C. until the second or third century A.D., the seals became\nlower and flatter, and the perforation larger, until they sometimes\nassumed the form of rings; later the ring form becomes general. They\nare usually hollowed a little in the middle, which gives them the shape\nand size of the lower short joints of a reed; indeed, it has been\nsuggested that the original seal was rudely patterned after a reed\njoint. The materials used for these cylinders include lapis-lazuli,\nvery freely used and probably from the Persian mines, jasper,\nrock-crystals, chalcedony, carnelian, agate, jade, etc.; a hard, black\nvariety of serpentine is perhaps the most common of all the materials\nused for this purpose.[180]\n\n[Illustration: PHOENICIAN SCARAB, WITH ENGRAVED SCORPION. (See page\n115.)]\n\n[Illustration: ANCIENT BABYLONIAN CYLINDER IMPRESSION, BEARING FIGURES\nOF THE GOD NEBO AND A WORSHIPPER, AND SYMBOLS OF SUN AND MOON.\n\nFrom Fischer and Wiedemann \u201cUeber Babylonische Talismane,\u201d Stuttgart,\n1881, Pl. 1, fig. 3.]\n\n[Illustration: A SMALL JADE CELT ENGRAVED WITH GNOSTIC INSCRIPTIONS IN\nTHE FOURTH CENTURY.\n\nOn one side are seven lines of characters, principally consisting\nof the seven Greek vowels used to denote the Ineffable Name. On the\nreverse is cut a laurel branch with 18 leaves, enclosed within each of\nwhich are characters expressing the name of one of the personifications\nof Gnostic theosophy. Brought from Egypt and deposited by its\npossessor, General Lefroy, in the Rotunda at Woolwich. Now in the\nEgyptian Department of the British Museum. (See page 129.)]\n\nA good example of these talismanic cylinders shows the figure of the\ngod Nebo, seated on a throne and holding a ring in his left hand.\nBefore him are two altars, over which appear, respectively, a star\nand the crescent moon; in front of the god is the figure of a man in\nan attitude of adoration. Borsippa, where the cylinder was found, was\nthe special seat of the worship of Nebo, whose name appears in those\nof the kings Nebuchadnezzar, Nebopalasser, and Nabonaid. Regarded\nas the inventor of writing and as the god of learning, Nebo was the\nlord of the planet Mercury, and this shows a close connection between\nBabylonian and Gr\u00e6co-Roman ideas in reference to the god associated\nwith that planet. Nebo was also believed to be the orderer of times\nand seasons, and this character is indicated by the star and the\ncrescent.[181]\n\nThe Cretan peasants of to-day set a high value upon certain very\nancient seals\u2014dating perhaps from as early as 2500 B.C.\u2014which they\nfind buried in the soil. These seals are inscribed with symbols\nsupposed to represent the prehistoric Cretan form of writing. Of\ncourse these inscriptions, which have not yet been deciphered by\narch\u00e6ologists, are utterly incomprehensible for the peasants, but they\nundoubtedly serve to render the stones objects of mystery. The peasants\ncall them _galopetr\u00e6_, or \u201cmilk-stones,\u201d and they are supposed to\npromote the secretion of milk, as was the case with the galactite.[182]\nThe careful preservation of these so-called _galopetr\u00e6_ by Cretan women\nhas served the purpose of arch\u00e6ological research, as otherwise so large\na supply of these very interesting seals would not now be available.\n\n[Illustration: 1. ENGRAVED HELIOTROPE.\n\nHead of Serapis surrounded by the twelve Zodiacal symbols. From Gori\u2019s\n\u201cThesaurus Gemmarum Antiquarum Astriferarum,\u201d Florence, 1750. Vol. i,\nPl. XVII.]\n\n[Illustration: 2. ENGRAVED RED JASPER.\n\nHead of Medusa, Museum Cl. Passerii.]\n\nMany engraved stones of the Roman imperial period bore the figures\nof Serapis and of Isis, the former signifying Time and the latter\nEarth. On other stones the symbols of the zodiacal signs appear,\nreferring to the natal constellation of the wearer. The astrologers,\nwho derived their lore from the Orient, were consulted by all classes\nof the Roman people, and it is therefore very natural that the signet,\nor the ring worn as an amulet, should frequently have been engraved\nwith astrological symbols. These designs were usually engraved on\nonyxes, carnelians, and similar stones, in Greek and Roman times; but\noccasionally the emerald was used in this way, and more rarely the\nruby or the sapphire. Here the costliness of the material was probably\nthought to enhance the value of the amulet. The emerald ring of\nPolycrates must have possessed some other than a purely artistic value\nin his eyes, when it could be regarded by him as the most precious of\nhis possessions.\n\nIn Roman times the image of Alexander the Great was looked upon as\npossessing magic virtues, and it is related that when Cornelius\nMacer gave a splendid banquet in the temple of Hercules, the chief\nornament of the table was an amber cup, in the midst of which was a\nportrait of Alexander, and around this his whole history figured in\nsmall, finely engraved representations. From this cup Macer drank to\nthe health of the pontifex and then ordered that it should be passed\naround among the guests, so that each one might gaze upon the image\nof the great man. Pollio, relating this, states that it was a common\nbelief that everything happened fortunately for those who bore with\nthem Alexander\u2019s portrait executed in gold or silver.[183] Indeed, even\namong Christians coins of Alexander were in great favor as amulets, and\nthe stern John Chrysostom sharply rebukes those who wore bronze coins\nof this monarch attached to their heads and their feet.[184]\n\nNowhere in the world was the use of amulets so common as in Alexandria,\nespecially in the first centuries of our era, and the types produced\nhere were scattered far and wide throughout the Roman world. Amulets\nmade from various colored stones had been used for religious purposes\nin Egypt from the very earliest period of its history, so that the\ncustom was deeply rooted in that land. When, therefore, Alexandria was\nfounded in the fourth century B.C., and became a great commercial\ncentre, attracting men of all races and all religions, it is not\nsurprising that the population eagerly adopted the various amulets\nused by the adherents of the different religions. The result was a\ncombining and confusion of many different types. With the rapid rise\nand growth of the Christian religion, a new element was introduced.\nUnquestionably the leading Christian teachers were strongly opposed to\nsuch superstitious practices, but the rank and file of the faithful\nclung to their old fancies.\n\nIn the second century the Gnostic heresy gave a new impulse to the\nfabrication of amulets. This strange eclecticism, resulting from\nan interweaving of pagan and Christian ideas, with its complicated\nsymbolism, much of which is almost incomprehensible, found expression\nin the creation of the most bizarre types of amulets, and the magic\nvirtues of the curious designs was enhanced by inscriptions purposely\nobscure. The incomprehensible always seems to have a mysterious charm\nfor those devoted to the magic arts, and the adepts willingly catered\nto this taste, so that we can often only guess at the signification of\nthe words and names engraved upon the Gnostic or Basilidian gems. So\nwidespread was their use throughout the Roman Empire, that there were\nfactories entirely devoted to the production of these objects.[185]\n\nRegarding the sacred name Abrasax, which was inscribed on so many\nGnostic gems, we read in St. Augustine\u2019s treatise De h\u00e6res., vi,\n\u201cBasilides asserted that there were 365 heavens; it was for this reason\nthat he regarded the name Abrasax as sacred and venerable.\u201d\n\n[Illustration: 1. Gnostic gem, heliotrope, with Abraxas god. Gorlaeus\nCollection. From the \u201cAbraxas seu Apistopistus\u201d of Macarius (L\u2019Heureux)\nAntwerp, 1657, Pl. II.\n\n2. Another type; with seven stars.\n\n3. Gnostic gem. Type of Abraxas god and mystic letters I A W. From\nGori\u2019s \u201cThesaurus Gemmarum Antiquarum Astriferarum,\u201d Florence, 1750,\nvol. i, Pl. CLXXXIX.\n\n4. Abraxas gem, jasper, mystic letters I A W. From Gorlaeus, \u201cCabinet\nde Pierres Grav\u00e9es,\u201d Paris, 1778.\n\n5. Jasper engraved with the symbol of the Agathodaemon Serpent.\nThe type of amulet noted by Galen as that used by the Egyptian\nking \u201cNechepsus\u201d (Necho 610-594 B.C.). Original at one time in the\ncollection of Johann Schinkel. From the \u201cAbraxas seu Apistopistus\u201d of\nMacarius (L\u2019Heureux) Antwerp, 1657, Pl. XVII. See page 385.]\n\nAccording to the Greek notation the letters comprising this name give\nthat number:\n\n  \u03b1 =   1\n  \u03b2 =   2\n  \u03c1 = 100\n  \u03b1 =   1\n  \u03c3 = 200\n  \u03b1 =   1\n  \u03be =  60\n      \u2014-\u2014\n      365\n\nIt is, however, not unlikely that the 365 days in the solar year\nare signified; and this enigmatical name might thus be brought into\nconnection with Mithra, the solar divinity, who was worshipped\nthroughout the Persian and Roman empires in the first and second\ncenturies of our era.\n\nA very recondite but ingenious explanation of the Gnostic name Abrasax\nis given by Harduin in his notes to Pliny\u2019s \u201cNatural History.\u201d[186]\nHe sees in the first three letters the initials of the three Hebrew\nwords signifying father, son, and spirit (_ab_, _ben_, _ruah_), the\nTriune God; the last four letters are the initials of the Greek words\n\u1f00\u03bd\u03b8\u03c1\u03ce\u03c0\u03bf\u03c5\u03c2 \u03c3\u03ce\u03b6\u03b5\u03b9 \u1f01\u03b3\u03af\u1ff3 \u03be\u03cd\u03bb\u1ff3 or \u201che saves men by the sacred wood\u201d (the\ncross). This seems rather far-fetched, it must be confessed, and yet\nto any one familiar with the vagaries of Alexandrine eclecticism, and\nwith the tendency of the time and place to make strange and uncouth\ncombinations of Greek and Hebrew forms, there is nothing inherently\nimprobable in the explanation. Indeed, the Hebrew and Greek words\nin this composite sentence might have been regarded as typifying\nthe union of the Old and New Testaments, and such an acrostic would\ncertainly have been looked upon as possessing a mystic and supernatural\npower.\n\n[Illustration: ANTIQUE JADE CELT CONVERTED INTO A GNOSTIC TALISMAN.]\n\nEnclosed within the outlines of the 18 leaves are as many names of the\npersonifications of Gnostic Theosophy.]\n\nMany explanations have been offered as to the origin and significance\nof the characteristic figure of the Abrasax god engraved on a number\nof Gnostic amulets. There seems to be no doubt that this figure was\ninvented by Basilides, chief of the Gnostic sect bearing his name, and\nwho flourished in the early part of the second century A.D. While the\ndetails of the type as perfected were undoubtedly borrowed from the\neclectic symbolism of the Egyptian and western Asiatic world it is\nalmost impossible to conjecture the reasons determining the selection\nof this particular form.\n\nA jasper engraved with the famous Gnostic symbol was set in the ring\nworn by Seffrid, Bishop of Chichester (A.D. 1159). This ring was found\non the skeleton of the bishop and is now preserved in the treasury of\nthe Cathedral of Chichester. Undoubtedly the curious symbolic figure\nwas given a perfectly orthodox meaning, and, indeed, it was not really\na pagan symbol, as the Gnostics were \u201cindifferent Christians,\u201d although\ntheir system was a fanciful elaboration of the doctrines of the late\nAlexandrian school of Greek Philosophy and an adaptation of this to the\nteachings of Christian tradition. In many cases, however, gems with\npurely pagan designs were worn by Christians, designs such as Isis with\nthe child Horus, which was taken to be the Virgin Mary with the infant\nJesus.\n\nA curious amulet, apparently belonging to the Gnostic variety, and\nintended to bring success to the owner of a racehorse, is now in the\ncollection of the Metropolitan Museum of Art, in New York. The material\nis green jasper with red spots. On the obverse the horse is figured\nwith the victor\u2019s palm and the name Tiberis; on the reverse appears\nthe vulture-headed figure of the Abraxas god and the characters,\n\u201cZACTA IAW BAPIA,\u201d which have been translated, \u201cIao the Destroyer and\nCreator.\u201d[187] Possibly this amulet may have been attached to the horse\nduring his races to insure victory, as we know that amulets of this\nkind were used in this way.\n\nAs illustrating the eclectic character of some of the amulets used\nin the early Christian centuries, we may note one in the Cabinet de\nM\u00e9dailles, in Paris. This has upon the obverse the head of Alexander\nthe Great; on the reverse is a she-ass with her foal, and below\nthis a scorpion and the name Jesus Christ. Another amulet of this\nclass, figured by Vettori,[188] also has the head of Alexander on\nthe obverse, while the reverse bears the Greek monogram of the name\nChristos.\n\nAfter the third or fourth century of our era the art of gem-engraving\nseems to have been lost, or at least to have been very seldom\npractised, and it is noteworthy in the matter that after this period\nwriters who treat of the virtues of engraved gems as talismans rarely,\nif ever, use the words \u201cif you engrave\u201d such or such a figure on a\nstone, but write \u201cif you find\u201d such a figure.\n\nThe figures engraved on precious stones were supposed to have a greater\nor lesser degree of efficacy in themselves independent of the virtues\npeculiar to the stone on which they were engraved, and this efficacy\ndepended largely upon the hour, day, or month during which the work\nwas executed. For the influence of the planet, star, or constellation\nwhich was in the ascendant was thought to infuse a subtle essence into\nthe stone while the appropriate image was being engraved. However,\nto exert the maximum power, the virtue of the image must be of the\nsame character as the virtue inherent in the material, and the gem\nbecame less potent when this was not the case. Certain images, those\nsymbolizing the zodiacal signs for instance, were looked upon as\npossessing such power that their peculiar nature impressed itself\neven upon stones inherently of different quality; others again were\nonly efficacious when engraved on stones the quality of which was in\nsympathy with them.[189]\n\nNaturally, many of the ancient gems which had been preserved from\nGreek and Roman times were recognized as being purely products of art,\nbut in medieval and later times the idea of the magic quality of all\nengraved gems had become so deeply rooted that in many cases a magical\ncharacter was ascribed to them entirely foreign to the intention of the\nengraver. Great ingenuity was often displayed in seeking and finding\nsome analogy between the supposed significance of the design and the\nfancied power of the stone itself. Taking the agate as an illustration,\nCamillo Leonardo says that its many different varieties had as\nmany different virtues, and he finds in this an explanation of the\nmultiplicity of images engraved on the various kinds of agate, without\nrealizing that the true reason was that this material lent itself more\nreadily to artistic treatment than did many others.\n\nThe idea that some special design should be engraved upon a given\nstone became quite general in the early centuries of our era. The\nemerald, for instance, according to Damigeron, was to be engraved with\na scarab, beneath which was to be a standing figure of Isis. The gem,\nwhen completed, was to be pierced longitudinally and worn in a brooch.\nThe fortunate owner of this talisman was then to adorn himself and the\nmembers of his family, and, a consecration having been pronounced, he\nwas assured that he would see \u201cthe glory of the stone granted it by\nGod.\u201d[190] Possibly this may have meant that the stone would become\nluminous.\n\nA list of these symbolic designs is said to have been given in the\n\u201cBook of Wings,\u201d by Ragiel, one of the curious treatises composed about\nthe thirteenth century under the influence of Hebrew and Greco-Roman\ntradition. Although it owes its origin to the Hebrew \u201cBook of Raziel,\u201d\nit bears little if any likeness to that work. As will be seen in the\nfollowing items, the fact that the design is on its appropriate stone\nis always insisted on:\n\n[Illustration: MOSS AGATE MOCHA STONES, HINDOOSTAN.]\n\n The beautiful and terrible figure of a dragon. If this is found on a\n ruby or any other stone of similar nature and virtue, it has the power\n to augment the goods of this world and makes the wearer joyous and\n healthy.\n\n The figure of a falcon, if on a topaz, helps to acquire the goodwill\n of kings, princes, and magnates. The image of an astrolabe, if on\n a sapphire, has power to increase wealth and enables the wearer to\n predict the future.\n\n The well-formed image of a lion, if engraved on a garnet, will protect\n and preserve honors and health, cures the wearer of all diseases,\n brings him honors, and guards him from all perils in travelling.\n\n An ass, if represented on a chrysolite, will give power to\n prognosticate and predict the future.\n\n The figure of a ram or of a bearded man, on a sapphire, has the\n power to cure and preserve from many infirmities as well as to free\n from poison and from all demons. This is a royal image; it confers\n dignities and honors and exalts the wearer.\n\n A frog, engraved on a beryl, will have the power to reconcile enemies\n and produce friendship where there was discord.\n\n A camel\u2019s head or two goats among myrtles, if on an onyx, has the\n power to convoke, assemble, and constrain demons; if any one wears it,\n he will see terrible visions in sleep.\n\n A vulture, if on a chrysolite, has the power to constrain demons and\n the winds. It controls demons and prevents them from coming together\n in the place where the gem may be; it also guards against their\n importunities. The demons obey the wearer.\n\n A bat, represented on a heliotrope or bloodstone, gives the wearer\n power over demons and helps incantations.\n\n A griffin, imaged on a crystal, produces abundance of milk.\n\n A man richly dressed and with a beautiful object in his hand, engraved\n on a carnelian, checks the flow of blood and confers honors.\n\n A lion or an archer, on a jasper, gives help against poison and cures\n from fever.\n\n A man in armor, with bow and arrow, on an iris stone, protects from\n evil both the wearer and the place where it may be.\n\n A man with a sword in his hand, on a carnelian, preserves the place\n where it may be from lightning and tempest, and guards the wearer from\n vices and enchantments.\n\n A bull engraved on a prase is said to give aid against evil spells and\n to procure the favor of magistrates.\n\n A hoopoo with a tarragon herb before it, represented on a beryl,\n confers the power to invoke water-spirits and to converse with them,\n as well as to call up the mighty dead and to obtain answers to\n questions addressed to them.\n\n A swallow, on a celonite, establishes and preserves peace and concord\n among men.\n\n A man with his right hand raised aloft, if engraved on a chalcedony,\n gives success in lawsuits, renders the wearer healthy, gives him\n safety in his travels and preserves him from all evil chances.\n\n The names of God, on a _ceraunia_ stone, have the power to preserve\n the place where the stone may be from tempests; they also give to the\n wearer victory over his enemies.\n\n A bear, if engraved on an amethyst, has the virtue of putting demons\n to flight and defends and preserves the wearer from drunkenness.\n\n A man in armor, graven on a magnet, or loadstone, has the power to aid\n in incantations and makes the wearer victorious in war.[191]\n\nAn Italian manuscript, dating from the fourteenth century, gives the\nfollowing talismanic gems:\n\n If thou findest a stone on which is graven or figured a man with a\n goat\u2019s head, whoever wears this stone, with God\u2019s help, will have\n great riches and the love of all men and animals.\n\n If a stone be found on which is graven or figured an armed man or\n the draped figure of a virgin, bound with laurel and having a laurel\n branch in her hand, this stone is sacred and frees the wearer from all\n changes and haps of fortune.\n\n When thou findest a stone on which is graven the figure of a man\n holding a scythe in his hand, a stone like this imparts strength and\n power to the wearer. Every day adds to his strength, courage and\n boldness.\n\n Hold dear that stone on which thou shalt find figured or cut the moon\n or the sun, or both together, for it makes the wearer chaste and\n guards him from lust.\n\n A jewel to be prized is that stone on which is graven or figured a\n man with wings having beneath his feet a serpent whose head he holds\n in his hand. A stone of this kind gives the wearer, by God\u2019s help,\n abundant wealth of knowledge, as well as good health and favor.\n\n Shouldst thou find a stone on which is the figure of a man holding in\n his right hand a palm branch, this stone, with God\u2019s help, renders the\n wearer victorious in disputes and in battles, and brings him the favor\n of the great.\n\n Finding the stone called jasper, bearing graven or figured a huntsman,\n a dog, or a stag, the wearer, with God\u2019s help, will have the power to\n heal one possessed of a devil, or who is insane.\n\n A good stone is that one on which thou shalt find graven or figured\n a serpent with a raven on its tail. Whoever wears this stone will\n enjoy high station and be much honored; it also protects from the\n ill-effects of the heat.[192]\n\nThe original meaning of the swastika emblem has been variously\nexplained as a symbol of fire, of the four cardinal points, of water,\nof the lightning, etc. Still another explanation is given by Hoernes,\nwho inclines to the belief that it is simply a conventionalized\nrepresentation of the human form, the lower shaft being the two legs\njoined together, the two horizontal shafts the outstretched arms, and\nthe upper shaft the trunk of the body; the four projections would stand\nfor the feet, the two hands and the head.[193]\n\nThe Egyptian crux ansata, the hieroglyphic symbol for \u201clife,\u201d and\nthe Ph\u0153nician Tau symbol, the \u201cmark\u201d that was to be stamped upon the\nforeheads of the faithful in Jerusalem (Ezek. ix, 4), and which in\nEarly Christian art was frequently substituted for the usual cross,\nare both explained by Hoernes in a similar way, and he notes the fact\nthat the swastika symbol does not appear in Egyptian or Ph\u0153nician art,\ndrawing the inference that all three symbols originated in the same\nform or figure.[194] To all these symbols were attributed talismanic\nvirtues and they were frequently engraved on precious stones.\n\n[Illustration: MONOGRAM OF THE NAME OF CHRIST ENGRAVED ON AN ONYX GEM.\n\nFrom the \u201cCabinet de Pierres Antiques Grav\u00e9es,\u201d of Gorlaeus, Paris,\n1778, Pl. XCV.]\n\nThe so-called \u201cMonogrammatic Cross\u201d was very freely used in work of the\nfifth century. This is simply a modification of the monogram formed of\nthe first two letters of the name Christ as written in Greek, a device\nwhich first appeared after the time of Constantine the Great (d. 337\nA.D.). This monogram usually assumed the following form: \u2627, and the\n\u201cMonogrammatic Cross\u201d was made by changing the position of the Greek X\n(chi), and making one of its arms serve as the straight stroke of the P\n(r), thus giving the following form: \u2ce8.\n\nA curious amulet to avert the spell of the Evil Eye is an engraved sard\nshowing an eye in the centre, around which are grouped the attributes\nof the divinities presiding over the days of the week. Sunday, the dies\nSolis, is represented by a lion; Monday, the dies Lun\u00e6, by a stag;\nTuesday, the dies Martis, by a scorpion; Wednesday, the dies Mercurii,\nby a dog; Thursday, the dies Jovis, by a thunderbolt; Friday, the dies\nVeneris, by a snake; and Saturday, the dies Saturni, by an owl.[195] In\nthis way the wearer was protected at all times from the evil influence.\n\nBecause of its peculiar markings, some of which suggest the form of an\neye, malachite was worn in some parts of Italy (_e.g._, in Bettona) as\nan amulet to protect the wearer from the spell of the Evil Eye. Such\nstones were called \u201cpeacock-stones,\u201d from their resemblance in color\nand marking to the peacock\u2019s tail. The form of these malachite amulets\nis usually triangular, and they were mounted in silver. It is curious\nto note, as a proof of the persistence of superstitions, that in an\nEtruscan tomb at Chiusi there was found a triangular, perforated piece\nof glass, each angle terminating in an eye formed of glass of various\ncolors.[196]\n\nOn many of the amulets fabricated in Italy for protection against the\ndreaded jettatura, or spell of the Evil Eye, the cock is figured.\nHis image was supposed in ancient times to assure the protection of\nthe sun-god, and his crowing was regarded as an inarticulate hymn of\npraise to this deity. He was also a type of dauntless courage. All\nthis contributed to make him a defender of the weak, especially of\nwomen and children, against the wiles of the spirits of darkness.[197]\nRostand, in his \u201cChantecler,\u201d has enlarged this conception, and endows\nthe cock with the proud conviction that it is to his matutinal chant\nalone that the world owes the daily recurrent phenomenon of the sunrise.\n\n[Illustration: TWO GOLD RINGS SET WITH ENGRAVED ONYX GEMS.\n\nOn the right, a Victory; on the left, game-cocks. From the\nDactyliotheca, of Gorlaeus, Delft, 1601, Figs. 171, 172.]\n\nIn Palestine the Evil Eye is supposed to be the baleful gift of men who\nhave light-blue eyes, more especially if they are beardless. Possibly\nthis is the power in which some of our blond and beardless \u201cmashers\u201d\nrepose their trust. As an antidote to the awful influence of these\nblue-eyed monsters, the Syrian women decorated themselves with blue\nbeads, on the principle _similia similibus curantur_. A maiden with\nbeautiful hair will tie a blue ribbon about it, or wear a blue bead in\nit, so as to ward off any evil spell cast by the blue eye that might\nrob her of her fair dower.[198]\n\nIt is a well-known fact that many amulets were made in forms suggesting\nobjects offensive to our sense of propriety. These were thought to\nprotect the wearers by denoting the contempt they felt for the evil\nspirits leagued against them. Some such fancy may have induced the\npeculiar designs of certain of the jewels alleged to have been pawned\nin Paris by the ex-Sultan Abdul Hamid for the sum of 1,200,000 francs\n($240,000). According to rumor, these pledges must be sold, as the\nsultan has failed to redeem them, but the designs are so _risqu\u00e9_ that\nthey cannot be offered at public sale; therefore the stones and pearls\nare to be removed and the gold settings are to be melted and sold as\nmetal.\n\nIt is not exclusively characteristic of our commercial and industrial\nage that the price paid for a work of art should influence the popular\nestimation of the merits of the work, as appears in an anecdote\nrelated by Pliny. An emerald (smaragd), upon which was engraved a\nfigure of Amymone (one of the Danaid\u00e6), having been offered for sale\nin the Isle of Cyprus, at the price of six golden denarii, Ismenias, a\nflute-player, gave orders to purchase it. The dealer, however, reduced\nthe price and returned two denarii; upon which Ismenias remarked, \u201cBy\nHercules! he has done me but a bad turn in this, for the merit of the\nstone has been greatly impaired by this reduction in price.\u201d[199]\n\nA variant of the design directed by Damigeron to be placed on the\nemerald is recommended in a thirteenth century manuscript, where\nwe read that to fit this stone for use as a talisman, it should be\nengraved with the form of a scarab, beneath which there should appear\na crested paroquet.[200] According to the same manuscript, a jasper\nshould bear the figure of Mars fully armed, or else that of a virgin\nwearing a flowing robe and bearing a laurel branch. It should then be\n\u201cconsecrated with perpetual consecration.\u201d The mythical author Cethel\nasserts that the owner of a jasper engraved with the sacred symbol of\nthe cross would be preserved from drowning.[201]\n\nA curious quid pro quo appears in a fifteenth century treatise on\ngems written in French. Here, in a list of engraved gems suitable for\nuse as amulets, we read, \u201cIf you find a dromedary engraved on a stone\nwith hair flowing over its shoulders, this stone will bring peace\nand concord between man and wife.\u201d The original Latin text read, \u201cIf\nyou find Andromeda on a stone with hair flowing over her shoulders,\u201d\netc.[202] The translator\u2019s art which could turn Andromeda into a\ndromedary almost equalled that of the enchantress Circe.\n\nA few even of the early writers were disposed to be sceptical as to\nthe virtues ascribed to these engraved gems, and did not hesitate to\nassert that the Greek and Roman engravers executed their designs for\nornamental purposes rather than to fit the gems for use as talismans.\nThis was undoubtedly true in a large number of cases but nevertheless,\nas we have seen, many engraved talismans were really cut in the early\ncenturies. As the art of gem engraving was not practised in the Middle\nAges, some medieval writers suppose that the engraved talismanic gems\ncurrent in their time were not works of art, but of nature, and Konrad\nvon Megenberg accepting this view, gave it as his opinion that \u201cGod\ngranted these stones their beauty and virtue for the help and comfort\nof the human race,\u201d adding that when he hoped to receive help from them\nhe in no wise denied the grace of God.[203]\n\nDamigeron writes of the sard that, if worn by a woman, it is a good\nand fortunate stone. It should be engraved with a design showing a\ngrape-vine and ivy intertwined.[204]\n\nA celebrated topaz was that noted by George Agricola as being in the\npossession of a Neapolitan, Hadrianus Gulielmus.[205] It bore, in\nancient Roman characters, the terse and pregnant inscription:\n\n  Natura deficit,\n  Fortuna mutatur.\n  Deus omnia cernit.\n\nThis was very freely rendered by Thomas Nicols as follows:[206]\n\n    Nature by frailty doth dayly waste away.\n    Fortune is turn\u2019d and changed every day.\n    In all, there is an eye know\u2019s no decay.\n                            Jah sees for aye.\n\nThere is in the Imperial Academy at Moscow a turquoise two inches in\ndiameter, inscribed with a text from the Koran in letters of gold. This\nturquoise was formerly worn by the Shah of Persia as an amulet, and it\nwas valued at 5000 rubles by the jeweller from whose hands it came.[207]\n\nIt is well known that Napoleon III was inclined to be superstitious,\nand there is not, therefore, anything inherently improbable in the\nreport that he left the seal he wore on his watch-chain to his son,\nthe unfortunate Prince Imperial, as a talisman. This seal is said to\nhave borne an inscription in Arabic characters, signifying \u201cThe slave\nAbraham relying on the Merciful One (God).\u201d[208] The talisman lost its\nvirtue on that unlucky day when, in far-off Zululand, the heir to so\nmany hopes was cut off in the first flush of early manhood (see page\n64).\n\n\n\n\nV\n\nOn Ominous and Luminous Stones\n\n\nTHE OPAL\n\n    _Mother._ Come, let me place a charm upon thy brow,\n              And may good spirits grant, that never care\n              Approach, to trace a single furrow there!\n\n    _Daughter._ Thy love, my mother, better far than charm,\n              Shall shield thy child\u2014and yet this wondrous gem[209]\n              Looks as though some strange influence it had won\n              From the bright skies\u2014for every rainbow hue\n              Shoots quivering through its depths in changeful gleams,\n              Like the mild lightnings of a summer eve.\n\n    _Mother._ Even so doth love pervade a mother\u2019s heart;\n              Thus, ever active, looks through her fond eyes.[210]\n\nThere can be little doubt that much of the modern superstition\nregarding the supposed unlucky quality of the opal owes its origin\nto a careless reading of Sir Walter Scott\u2019s novel, \u201cAnne of\nGeierstein.\u201d[211] The wonderful tale therein related of the Lady\nHermione, a sort of enchanted princess, who came no one knew whence\nand always wore a dazzling opal in her hair, contains nothing to\nindicate that Scott really meant to represent the opal as unlucky. Lady\nHermione\u2019s gem was an enchanted stone just as its owner was a product\nof enchantment, and its peculiarities depended entirely upon its\nmysterious character, which might equally well have been attributed to\na diamond, a ruby, or a sapphire. The life of the stone was bound up\nwith the life of Hermione; it sparkled when she was gay, it shot out\nred gleams when she was angry; and when a few drops of holy water were\nsprinkled over it, they quenched its radiance. Hermione fell into a\nswoon, was carried to her chamber, and the next day nothing but a small\nheap of ashes remained on the bed whereon she had been laid. The spell\nwas broken and the enchantment dissolved. All that can have determined\nthe selection of the opal rather than any other precious stone is the\nfact of its wonderful play of color and its sensitiveness to moisture.\nHence we are perfectly justified in returning to the older belief of\nthe manifold virtues of the opal, only remembering that this gem is\na little more fragile than many others and should be more carefully\nhandled and guarded.\n\nThe opal, October\u2019s gem, recalls in its wonderful and varied play of\ncolor the glories of a bright October day in the country, when earth\nand sky vie with each other in brilliancy and the eye is fairly dazzled\nwith the bewildering variety of color.\n\nIt rarely happens that Pliny gives any information as to particular\njewels, almost all his notices of precious stones being confined to\ndescriptions of their form and color, and data regarding what was\npopularly believed as to their talismanic or therapeutic power. In the\ncase of the _opalus_, however, he writes as follows: \u201cThere exists\nto-day a gem of this kind, on account of which the senator Nonius was\nproscribed by Antony. Seeking safety in flight, he took with him of\nall his possessions this ring alone, which it is certain, was valued\nat 2,000,000 sesterces ($80,000).\u201d[212] The stone was \u201cas large as a\nhazel-nut.\u201d\n\nThis \u201copal of Nonius\u201d would be the great historic opal if we had any\nassurance that it was really the stone to which we now give this name.\nAs, however, the principal European source of supply in Hungary does\nnot appear to have been available in classic times to the Romans, and\nas opals are not found in the places whence, according to Pliny, the\n_opalus_ was derived, we are almost forced to the conclusion that he\nhad some other stone in mind when he gave his eloquent description of\nthe _opalus_. And yet, in spite of all this, Pliny\u2019s words so well\ndescribe the beauties of a fine opal that it is difficult to determine\nwhat other stone he could have meant. For it can well be said of opals\nthat \u201cThere is in them a softer fire than in the carbuncle, there\nis the brilliant purple of the amethyst; there is the sea-green of\nthe emerald\u2014all shining together in incredible union. Some by their\nrefulgent splendor rival the colors of the painters, others the flame\nof burning sulphur or of fire quickened by oil.\u201d[213] Possibly some\nbrilliant varieties of iridescent quartz\u2014\u201ciris\u201d quartz, possessing an\ninternal fracture, displays with great brilliancy all the colors of the\nrainbow, sparkling with wonderful clearness in its field of transparent\nmineral\u2014might excite the admiration of one who had never seen an opal.\nReferring again to these quartz crystals, they are often cut so as to\nform a dome of quartz and are even used as distinct jewels. The fact\nthat Pliny could praise the Indian imitations of the _opalus_ in glass,\nand could state that this stone was more successfully imitated than any\nother, is an almost decisive argument against identifying the _opalus_\nwith an opal, for it is well known that no stone is more difficult to\nimitate.\n\nAbout the middle of the eighteenth century, a peasant found a brilliant\nprecious stone in some old ruins at Alexandria, Egypt. This stone was\nset in a ring. It was as large as a hazel-nut and is said to have been\nan opal cut _en cabochon_. According to the report, it was eventually\ntaken to Constantinople, where it was estimated to be worth \u201cseveral\nthousand ducats.\u201d[214] The description given of this gem, its apparent\nantiquity, and the high value set upon it have contributed to induce\nmany to conjecture that it was the celebrated \u201copal of Nonius.\u201d Of\ncourse this was nothing but a romantic fancy. It is also quite certain\nthat an opal would scarcely hold its play of color or compactness for\ntwenty centuries, for most opals lose their water\u2014slowly perhaps, but\nsurely\u2014within a lesser space of time. Even the finest Hungarian opals\nshow some loss of life and color within a century or even less, and\nsome transparent Mexican opals lose their color and are filled with\nflaws within a few years\u2019 time.\n\nThe Edda tells of a sacred stone called the yarkastein, which the\nclever smith Vol\u00f6ndr (the Scandinavian Vulcan) formed from the eyes\nof children. Grimm conjectures that this name designates a round,\nmilk-white opal. Certainly the opal was often called _ophthalmios_, or\neyestone, in the Middle Ages, and it was a common idea that the image\nof a boy or girl could be seen in the pupil of the eye.\n\n[Illustration: THE \u201cORPHANUS JEWEL\u201d IN THE GERMAN IMPERIAL CROWN.\n\nFrom the \u201cHortus Sanitatis\u201d of Johannis de Cuba [Strassburg, Jean\nPryss, ca. 1483]; De lapidibus, cap. xcii. Author\u2019s library.]\n\nAlbertus Magnus describes under the name _orphanus_ a stone which\nwas set in the imperial crown of the Holy Roman Empire. This gem is\nbelieved to have been a splendid opal, and Albertus describes it as\nfollows:\n\n The orphanus is a stone which is in the crown of the Roman Emperor,\n and none like it has ever been seen; for this very reason it is called\n orphanus. It is of a subtle vinous tinge, and its hue is as though\n pure white snow flashed and sparkled with the color of bright, ruddy\n wine, and was overcome by this radiance. It is a translucent stone,\n and there is a tradition that formerly it shone in the night-time; but\n now, in our age, it does not sparkle in the dark. It is said to guard\n the regal honor.[215]\n\nEvidently this imperial gem was regarded as _sui generis_, for Albertus\nhas just described the _ophthalmus lapis_, a name frequently bestowed\nupon the opal in medieval times, reciting the virtues usually ascribed\nto the opal for the cure of diseases of the eye, and the magic power of\nthe stone to render its wearer invisible, wherefore it was denominated\n_patronus furum_, or \u201cpatron of thieves.\u201d\n\nIn the Middle Ages the opal mines of Cernowitz, in Hungary, were\nvery actively exploited, and at the opening of the fifteenth century\nmore than three hundred men are said to have been employed here in\nthe search for opals. At that time, and for many centuries after, no\nbreath of suspicion ever tarnished the fame of the opal as not only a\nthing of rare beauty, but also a talisman of the first rank. We are\ntold that blond maidens valued nothing more highly than necklaces of\nopals, for while they wore these ornaments their hair was sure to guard\nits beautiful color. The latter superstitions probably arose from the\nfrangibility of the stone and its occasional loss of fire.\n\nFrom the earliest times the baleful influence of the Evil Eye has\nstruck terror into the souls of the ignorant and superstitious. It\nis believed by some that the name \u201copal\u201d\u2014written \u201cophal\u201d in the\ntime of Queen Elizabeth\u2014was derived from _ophthalmos_, the eye, or\n_ophthalmius_, pertaining to the eye, and that hence the foolish\nsuperstition regarding the ill luck of the opal had some connection\nwith the belief in the Evil Eye. However, this is altogether incorrect,\nsince the stone called _ophthalmius_ by early writers, and which seems\nto have been the opalus of the ancients and our opal, was believed to\nhave a wonderfully beneficial effect upon the sight, and if it was\nthought to render the wearer invisible, this was only an added virtue\nof the stone.\n\n[Illustration:\n\n  1, 2, 3, 4, 5. Eye agates, Aleppo stones, Arabia.\n  6 and 7. Antique eye agates, with double zone.\n  8 and 9. Aleppo stones set in rings.\n  10 and 11. Double eye agates, Aleppo stones, Arabia.\n  12. Natural pebble, showing eye from Isle Royal, Lake Superior.\n  13 and 14. Natural agates with eye-like effect, East Indian. Had been\n              used as votive charms.\n  15. Eye agate, Brazil.\n  16. Agate called Oriental agate, eye effect, from Brazil.\n  17. Ancient eye of idol, agate variety sardonyx. Had been pierced\n       lengthwise and worn as a charm on the arm. East Indian.\n]\n\nThe eye-agates were sometimes used to form the eyes of idols. At a\nlater period some of these \u201cagate-eyes\u201d were removed from the statues\nand cut with a glyptic subject on the lower side. Some of the most\ninteresting antique gems are of this kind. In Aleppo (and elsewhere in\nthe East) there is a certain type of sore known as the \u201cAleppo button\u201d\nor \u201cAleppo boil.\u201d The boil frequently does not appear for a long\nperiod after infection has taken place. It often appears as a swelling\nsurrounded by a white ring, and there is a belief among the natives\nthat there are \u201cAleppo stones,\u201d these being the so-called \u201ceye-agates\u201d\nfrequently produced by cutting a three-layer, naturally pale yellow\nor pale gray agate, with intervening white zones in such a way that\nit looks like an eye or a double-eye, and such stones are used in\nalleviation of the Aleppo sore. What beneficial influence they may have\nis due to the fact that the agate is cold and furnishes a little relief\nfor the time.\n\nThis \u201cAleppo boil\u201d or \u201cOriental sore\u201d so prevalent in many parts of\nwestern Asia, is produced, according to the best authorities, by a\npathogenic organism _Leishmania tropica_ (Wright) 1903. As to the means\nby which this organism is introduced into the human subject nothing\nvery definite is known, but mosquitoes or _Phlebotomus_ have been\nsuggested as possible transmitting agencies.[216]\n\nThe eye of some invisible monster, the eye of the dragon, the eye of\nthe serpent, were all regarded as possessed of malign power. It is well\nknown that in the East Indies a peacock\u2019s feather is thought to bring\nill-luck, the eye in the feather being the baleful point. Even in our\nown time, and among those for whom this primitive superstition has no\nterrors, the humorous use of the idea\u2014as shown, for instance, in the\n\u201cDick Dead-Eye\u201d of Gilbert and Sullivan\u2019s \u201cPinafore\u201d\u2014proves that the\nEvil Eye is familiar to our thoughts. For this reason, stones such as\nthose which have been named the cat\u2019s-eye, the tiger\u2019s-eye, or the\noculus Beli, always possess a certain strange interest.\n\nOne of the earliest descriptions of the opal in English is that written\nin the reign of Queen Elizabeth by Dr. Stephen Batman (d. 1584). While\nthe passage is essentially a translation from the \u201cDe proprietatibus\nrerum,\u201d of Bartolom\u00e6us Anglicus, the English version is interesting\nin itself as showing what was accepted by English readers of the time\nregarding the virtues of the opal. There is, of course, no trace of\nthe foolish modern superstition touching the ominous quality of this\nbeautiful gem. Batman writes:[217]\n\n Optallio is called Oppalus also, and is a stone distinguished with\n colors of divers precious stones, as _Isid._ saith.... This stone\n breedeth onely in _Inde_ and is deemed to have as many virtues, as\n hiewes and colours. Of this _Optallius_ it is said in Lapidario, that\n this _Optallius_ keepeth and saveth his eyen that beareth it, cleere\n and sharp and without griefe, and dimmeth other men\u2019s eyen that be\n about, with a maner clowde, and smiteth them with a maner blindnesse,\n that is called _Amentia_, so that they may not see neither take heede\n what is done before their eyen. Therefore it is said that it is the\n most sure patron of theeves.\n\nThe opal seems to have appealed to Shakespeare as a fit emblem of\ninconstancy, for in \u201cTwelfth Night\u201d he makes the clown say to the\nDuke:[218]\n\n Now the melancholy God protect thee, and the Tailor make thy garment\n of changeable taffeta, for thy mind is very opal.\n\nThat the beauty of the opal was fully appreciated in the sixteenth\ncentury is shown by the words of Cardano, who states that he once\nbought one of these stones for fifteen gold crowns and found as much\npleasure in its possession as he did in that of a diamond that had\ncost him five hundred crowns.[219] Although superstitious beliefs\nwere rather the rule than the exception in Cardano\u2019s time, none of\nthe silly fancies regarding the ominous quality of the opal were then\ncurrent. It was reserved for the nineteenth century to develop these\naltogether unreasonable\u2014and indeed almost inexplicable\u2014superstitions.\nThe ownership of so fair an object as a fine opal must certainly be a\nsource of pleasure, and hence add to the good fortune of the owner.\n\nAlthough opal has been considered by some a stone of misfortune, black\nopal is regarded as an exceptionally lucky stone. Formerly black opals\nwere artificially made by dipping the light-colored stone into ink, or\nby allowing burnt oil to enter cracks in the stone produced by heating.\nAbout the year 1900, however, a number of deposits of natural black\nopals were found in the White Cliff region of New South Wales, whence\nexceedingly beautiful gems have been secured, with wonderful flames\nof green, red, and blue in a black field. Some of these have sold for\n$1000 and even for a higher price, the smaller ones bringing from a few\ndollars upward each. It has been claimed that $2,000,000 worth have\nbeen sold from New South Wales. A remarkable example is figured on the\nfrontispiece of this volume. The late F. Marion Crawford was a great\nadmirer of this strangely beautiful variety of opal.\n\nThat ill-luck and good-luck are relative terms is shown us published\nof an opal by Paris newspapers. A shopgirl, plainly clad, in crossing\nthe Place de l\u2019Op\u00e9ra, when the street traffic was at its greatest,\nstopped at one of the \u201crefuges\u201d halfway across the street. To the\ngirl\u2019s great surprise, an elegantly attired lady standing there slipped\nan opal ring from her finger and gave it to the girl, who took it\nto a jeweller\u2019s shop to sell it. Here she was arrested on suspicion\nof having stolen it. The magistrate before whom she appeared was\ninclined to believe her story and ordered a \u201cpersonal\u201d in a widely read\njournal asking the lady to clear the girl of the charge. A titled lady\npresented herself, substantiating the girl\u2019s statement. She feared\nill-luck would befall her if she wore or kept the ring, which was\nreturned to the shopgirl.\n\nA possible explanation of the superstitious dread the opal used to\nexcite some time ago may be found in the fact that lapidaries and\ngem-setters to whom opals were entrusted were sometimes so unfortunate\nas to fracture them in the process of cutting or setting. This was\nfrequently due to no fault on the part of the cutters or setters, but\nwas owing to the natural brittleness of the opal. As such workmen are\nresponsible to the owners for any injury to the gems, they would soon\nacquire a prejudice against opals, and would come to regard them as\nunlucky stones. Very widespread superstitions have no better foundation\nthan this, for the original cause, sometimes a quite rational one, is\nsoon lost sight of and popular fantasy suggests something entirely\ndifferent and better calculated to appeal to the imagination.\n\nThe belief that the diamond fractured the teeth if it were put in\nthe mouth, and ruptured the intestines if it were swallowed, already\nappears in pseudo-Aristotle,[220] and can therefore be dated back to\nthe ninth and perhaps to the seventh century. This fancy evidently owes\nits origin to the fact that the diamond, because of its hardness, was\nused to cut all other stones, and the idea of its destructive quality\nwas strengthened by the old legends regarding the venomous serpents\nwhich guarded the place where it was found. Hence the firm conviction\nthat it would bring death to any one who swallowed it.\n\nAccording to Garcias ab Orta (1563), the diamond was not used for\nmedicinal purposes in the India of his time, except when injected\ninto the bladder to break up vesical calculi. He notes, however, the\nprevalent belief that diamonds, or diamond dust, when taken internally,\nworked as a poison. As a proof of the falsity of this belief, Garcias\nadduces the fact that the slaves who worked in the diamond mines\noften swallowed diamonds to conceal them, and never experienced any\nill effects, the stones being recovered in a natural way. The same\nauthor notes the case of a man who suffered from chronic dysentery and\nwhose wife had for a long time administered to him doses of diamond\ndust. If this did not help him, neither did it injure him; finally, by\nthe advice of the doctors, this strange treatment was abandoned. The\nman eventually died of his disease, but many days after the doses of\ndiamond dust had been discontinued.[221]\n\nThe Hindus believed that a flawed diamond, or one containing specks or\nspots, was so unlucky that it could even deprive Indra of his highest\nheaven. The original shape of the stone was also considered of great\nimportance, more especially in early times, when but few, if any,\ndiamonds, were cut. A triangular stone was said to cause quarrels, a\nsquare diamond inspired the wearer with vague terrors; a five-cornered\nstone had the worst effect of all, for it brought death; only the\nsix-cornered diamond was productive of good.[222]\n\nThe Turkish sultan Bejazet II (1447-1512) is said to have been done\nto death by a dose of pulverized diamond administered to him by his\nson Selim, who mixed the diamond dust with the sultan\u2019s food.[223] It\nis also related that the disciples of Paracelsus (1493-1541) spread\nthe report that he died from the effects of a dose of diamond dust.\nAmbrosius[224] conjectures that this was only an excuse to explain the\ndemise of the master in the prime of life\u2014he was but forty-eight years\nold at the time of his death\u2014although he had promised long life to all\nwho made use of his medicaments.\n\nWhile Benvenuto Cellini (1500-1571), the unrivalled goldsmith, was\nimprisoned in Rome, in 1538, he strongly suspected that his enemies\nwere seeking to poison him by tampering with his food. Cellini shared\nthe belief of his contemporaries that there was no more deadly poison\nthan diamond dust. One day, while eating his noonday meal, he felt\nsomething grate between his teeth. He paid no particular attention\nto this, but when he had finished eating his eye was caught by some\nbright particles on the plate. Picking up one of these and examining it\ncarefully, he was terrified to find what he supposed to be a diamond\nsplinter, and he straightway gave himself up for lost, thinking that he\nhad swallowed a quantity of diamond dust. He prayed to God for an hour\nand finally became reconciled to the thought of dying, but suddenly it\noccurred to him that he had not tested the hardness of the fragment he\nhad found in his food. He immediately took the splinter and tried to\ncrush it between his knife and the stone window-sill; to his joy the\nattempt succeeded, and he became convinced that what he had swallowed\nwas not diamond dust. Later, after his release, Cellini learned that\nan enemy had given a diamond to a certain Lione Aretino, a gem-cutter,\ninstructing him to grind it up so that the dust could be placed in\nCellini\u2019s food. The gem-cutter was very poor and the diamond was worth\na hundred scudi, so the man yielded to temptation and substituted\na citrine for the diamond. To this circumstance alone did Cellini\nattribute his escape from death.[225]\n\nIn England, more than seventy years after Cellini\u2019s experience, diamond\ndust was selected as a poison to do away with a luckless prisoner. Sir\nThomas Overbury had incurred the bitter animosity of the Countess of\nEssex, because he opposed her marriage with the favorite of James I,\nRobert Carr, Viscount Somerset, whom he had befriended and whose career\nhe had furthered. The marriage took place, however, and, in 1613,\nOverbury was imprisoned in the Tower, through the machinations of the\ncountess. She then sought the aid of one James Franklin, an apothecary,\ndirecting him to concoct a slow and deadly poison, which should be\nmixed with Overbury\u2019s food. In the minutes of Franklin\u2019s confession, he\nis said to have stated that the countess asked him what he thought of\nwhite arsenic. His reply was that this poison would prove too violent.\n\u201cWhat say you (quoth she) to powder of diamonds?\u201d He answered, \u201cI\nknow not the nature of that.\u201d She said that he was a fool, and gave\nhim pieces of gold, and bade him buy some of that powder for her. It\nappears, however, from the testimony, that a number of ingredients were\nemployed, quite probably small doses of mercury, cantharides, etc., as\nwell as the baleful diamond dust. Poor Overbury lingered on for more\nthan three months, but was finally put out of his misery by a clyster\nof corrosive sublimate.[226]\n\nAs a proof of the deadly effects caused by the diamond, the Portuguese\nZacutus relates the case of a merchant\u2019s servant who surreptitiously\nswallowed three rough diamonds belonging to his master. On the\nfollowing day this man was seized with violent abdominal pains, all the\nremedies administered to him were without effect, and he soon died from\nthe extensive internal ulceration produced by the sharp edges of the\ndiamonds.[227]\n\nThis old fancy that diamonds or diamond dust had deadly effects\nwhen swallowed is pretty well exploded by this time, little or no\nconfirmation being afforded by the instances cited in the matter.\nHowever, quite recently it has been shown that swallowing a diamond\ncan prove fatal to a fowl. While a prize-winning cockerel was being\nfondled by his proud owner, it spied a flashing diamond set in a ring\non his hand, and immediately pecked out the stone and swallowed it. Not\nlong after, the fowl died\u2014not, however, because it was poisoned by the\ndiamond, but because it was chloroformed to insure the speedy recovery\nof the stone.\n\nAn old English ballad, treating of the loves of Hind Horn and Maid\nRimnild, recounts that when Hind Horn, who loved and was beloved by\nthe king\u2019s daughter, went to sea to escape the wrath of the king, the\nprincess gave him a ring set with seven diamonds. We are told that when\nfar from home:\n\n    One day he looked his ring upon\n    He saw the diamond pale and wan.\n\nHereupon, he hastened back, for the paleness of the stone was a sign\nthe loved one was unfaithful to him. On his return, he succeeded in\npreventing her marriage to another, and everything ended happily.[228]\n\nIn a fourteenth century MS. of the Old English romance upon which the\nballad is founded, the stone in the ring is not named; in giving it\nRimnild says:[229]\n\n    Loke thou forsake it for no thing;\n    The ston it is well trewe.\n    When the ston wexeth wan\n    Than chaungeth the thought of thi leman,\n\n    Take than a newe.\n    When the ston wexeth rede,\n    Than have Y lorn mi maidenhed,\n    Oghaines[230] the untrewe.\n\nIn this older form of the tale, the stone either grows pale or red as a\nsign of misfortune. It is interesting to note that Epiphanius, writing\na thousand years earlier, states that the _adamas_ of the high-priest\ngrew red as a presage of bloodshed and defeat for the Jews.\n\nRegarding the old fancy that a serpent could not look upon an emerald\nwithout losing its sight, the Arabian gem dealer, Ahmed Teifashi, in\n1242 writes as follows:[231]\n\n After having read in learned books of this peculiarity of the emerald,\n I tested it by my own experiment and found the statements exact. It\n chanced that I had in my possession a fine emerald of the zab\u00e2bi\n variety, and with this I decided to make the experiment on the eyes\n of a viper. Therefore, having made a bargain with a snake-charmer to\n procure me some vipers, as soon as I received them I selected one\n and placed it in a vessel. This being done, I took a stick of wood,\n attached to the end a piece of wax, and embedded my emerald in this.\n I then brought the emerald near to the viper\u2019s eyes. The reptile was\n strong and vigorous, and even raised its head out of the vessel, but\n as soon as I approached the emerald to its eyes, I heard a slight\n crepitation and saw that the eyes were protruding and dissolving into\n a humor. After this the viper was dazed and confused; I had expected\n that it would spring from the vessel, but it moved uneasily hither and\n thither, without knowing which way to turn; all its agility was lost,\n and its restless movements soon ceased.\n\nWolfgang Gabelchover, in his commentary on the sixth book of the\ntreatise \u201cDe Gemmis,\u201d by Andrea Baccio, gives the following account of\na strange and tragic experience in regard to a ruby:[232]\n\n It is worthy of note that the true Oriental ruby, by frequent changes\n of color and by growing obscurity, announces to the wearer some\n impending misfortune or calamity; and the obscurity and opacity is\n greater or less according to the extent of the coming ill-fortune.\n Alas! that what I had often heard proclaimed by learned men, I should\n myself experience; for as, on the fifth of December, 1600, I was\n travelling from Stuttgart to Calw with my beloved wife Catherine\n Adelmann of pious memory, I plainly observed in the course of the\n journey that a very beautiful ruby which she had given me, and which I\n wore on my hand, set in a gold ring, once and again lost its splendid\n coloring and became obscure, changing its brightness for a dark hue.\n This dark hue continued not for one or two days only, but so long\n that I was greatly terrified, and, removing the ring from my finger,\n concealed it in a case. Wherefore, I repeatedly warned my wife that\n some great calamity was impending either for her or for myself, the\n which I inferred from the change and variation of the ruby. Nor was\n I deceived, for within a few days she was seized with a dangerous\n illness, which resulted in her death.\n\nA story explaining one at least of these supposedly ominous changes of\ncolor in precious stones, is given by Johann Jacob Spener, who states\nthat it was told him by a trustworthy informant:[233]\n\n There was a jeweller, expert, prudent, and rich, three essential\n qualities in a jeweller. One day, after having washed his hands, this\n man sat at a table, when, glancing at a ruby ring he wore on his\n finger, he remarked that the stone, which usually delighted the eye\n with its splendor, had lost its brilliancy and become dull. Since he\n believed what others had related to him, he was firmly persuaded that\n some misfortune threatened him, and, having removed the ring from\n his finger, he placed it in its case. A fortnight later, one of this\n man\u2019s sons died of varioloid. Reminded by this event of the phenomenon\n observed in the ruby, the jeweller took it from the case and found,\n on examination, that it had regained its pristine brilliancy. This\n fact confirmed him in his belief in the ominous quality of the stone.\n Once more, shortly after washing his hands, he remarked anew that\n the splendor of the ruby was dimmed, and he again fell a prey to\n anxiety, lest some fresh misfortune was impending. Since, however,\n his apprehensions proved vain and no untoward event happened, he\n investigated the matter carefully, and discovered that the obscuration\n of the color was due to a drop of water which had penetrated between\n the ruby and the foil, as the jewellers call it, and that the former\n brilliancy returned when the water had evaporated.\n\nThe ominous character of the onyx is especially noted in Arabic\ntradition, as is shown by the Arabic name for the stone, _el jaza_,\n\u201csadness.\u201d The following passage from pseudo-Aristotle offers an\nillustration of the strength of this prejudice against the onyx, which\nwas said to come from China and the Magreb:[234]\n\n Those who are in the land of China fear this stone so much that they\n dread to go into the mines where it occurs; hence none but slaves and\n menials, who have no other means of gaining a livelihood, take the\n stone from the mines. When it has been extracted, it is carried out of\n the country and sold in other lands. Those men of the Magreb also who\n are gifted with any wisdom will not wear an onyx or place it in their\n treasuries. Indeed, no one is willing to wear it, unless he be bereft\n of his senses; for whosoever wears it, either set in a ring or in any\n other way, will have fearful dreams and be tormented by a multitude\n of doubts and apprehensions; he will also have many disputes and\n lawsuits. Lastly, whoever keeps an onyx in his house, or places it in\n a vessel, or puts it in food or drink, will suffer loss of energy and\n capacity.\n\nAn ominous character was attributed to the red coral, especially the\nmore highly colored varieties. If worn so that the substance came in\ndirect contact with the skin, it was asserted that the color would\npale, the coral also losing its brightness if the wearer became ill, or\neven if he were only threatened with severe illness. The same effect\nwas said to be induced if some deadly poison had been taken. Cardano\nwrites that he more than once observed this phenomenon, and he thinks\nthat in these cases, where the wearer was not yet attacked by disease,\nits threatening \u201cvapor,\u201d though not strong enough to provoke decided\nsymptoms in the human body, was sufficiently powerful to offset the\nmore delicate and subtle essence of the mineral substance. Of course,\nfor us the mineral would be much less sensitive than flesh and blood,\nbut the sixteenth century writers, and to a still greater degree those\nof an earlier time, attributed to stones not only life in a general\nway, but old age, disease, and death, in a very positive sense.[235]\n\nRabbinical tradition tells of a wonderful luminous stone placed by Noah\nin the Ark. This stone shone more brilliantly by day than by night, and\nserved to distinguish the day from the night when, during the flood,\nneither sun nor moon could be seen.[236] According to another Jewish\nlegend, Abraham is said to have built a city for the six sons Hagar\nbore to him. The wall with which this city was surrounded was so lofty\nthat the light of the sun was cut off, and to offset this Abraham gave\nto his sons enormous precious stones and pearls. These exceeded the sun\nin brightness, and will be used in the time of the Messiah.[237]\n\n\u00c6lian relates the following tale of a luminous stone. A woman of\nTarentum, named Heracleis, who was a pattern of the domestic virtues,\nlost her husband and mourned sincerely for him. Her grief made her\ncompassionate, for when a young stork just learning to fly lost its\nstrength and fell to the ground before her, Heracleis picked up the\nhelpless bird and tended it carefully until its strength returned and\nit was able to fly away. A year later, when the woman was outside the\nhouse enjoying the bright warm sunshine, she saw a stork flying toward\nher. As the bird passed over her head, it let fall a precious stone\ninto her lap. Heracleis took the stone with her into the house,\nfeeling by an infallible instinct that the stork which had dropped it\nwas the one she had cared for in the previous year. During the night\nshe woke up, and was astonished to see that the room was lighted up as\nthough by many torches, the radiance proceeding from the stone bestowed\nby the stork as a proof of its gratitude.[238]\n\nIn German, the stone called _Donnerkeil_ (thunderbolt) has several\nsynonyms; among these is _Storchstein_ (\u201cstork-stone\u201d). It is evident\nthat the stone of Heracleis was identical with the precious and\nbrilliant variety of _cerauni\u00e6_ mentioned by Pliny, \u201cwhich drew to\nthemselves the radiance of the stars.\u201d The flashing and ruddy light\nof the ruby suggested an igneous origin, and induced the belief that\nrubies were generated by a fire from heaven,\u2014in other words, by the\nlightning flash.[239]\n\nThe analogy between the flame of a lamp or the glow of a burning coal\nand the radiance of a ruby, suggested some of the names given to this\nstone, or those resembling it in color, as, for instance, the Greek\n_anthrax_ and the Latin _carbunculus_ and _lychnis_. Probably the\nfancy that such stones were luminous in the dark was nothing more than\nthe logical result of the quasi-identification of them with fire in\nsome of its manifestations. Still, it is a well-known fact that some\nstones possess a high degree of phosphorescence. This circumstance\nmust have been observed by chance, and may have had something to do\nwith the legends of luminous stones, although this peculiarity is not\ncharacteristic of the ruby.\n\nAccording to Pliny, the lychnis, perhaps a spinel, was so called _a\nlucernarum accensu_ (from the lighting, or the light, of lamps). The\nauthor of the poem \u201cLithica\u201d says that the diamond (_adamas_), like\nthe crystal, when placed on an altar, sent forth a flame without the\naid of fire.[240] If this did not refer to the use of rock-crystal as\na burning-glass, we might see in the passage an indication that the\nphosphorescence of the diamond had already been noted before the second\nor third century of our era.\n\nFrom the Lydian river Tmolus a marvellous stone was taken which was\nsaid to change color four times a day. This surpasses the properties of\nthe \u201csaphire merveilleux\u201d which changed its hue at night. Only innocent\nyoung girls could find the Lydian stone, and while they wore it they\nwere defended from outrage.[241] Is it possible that the ancient writer\nintended to hint at the proverbial fickleness of woman, when stating\nthat this changeable stone could only be discovered by one of the fair\nsex?\n\nThe temple of the Syrian goddess Astarte contained an image of this\ndivinity crowned with a diadem in which was set a luminous stone.\nSuch was the splendor of the light emitted by this gem that the whole\nsanctuary was lighted up as though with a myriad of lamps. Indeed, the\nstone itself bore the name _lychnos_ (\u201clamp\u201d). In the daytime this\nlight was fainter, but was still very noticeable, as a fiery glow.[242]\n\nTwo fabulous stones are noted by pseudo-Aristotle, and one of these,\nthe \u201csleeping-stone,\u201d must have possessed marvellous soporific power.\nIt was a luminous stone of a bright ruddy hue, and shone in the\ndarkness with a bright light. If a small quantity of this stone were\nhung about a person\u2019s neck, he would sleep uninterruptedly for three\ndays and nights, and, when awakened on the fourth day, he would still\nbe almost overcome by sleep. The other stone, of a greenish hue, had\nthe opposite quality and induced prolonged wakefulness; so long as it\nwas worn, sleep was banished. Our author gravely states that \u201csome\nmen who must watch at night suffer greatly from lack of sleep.\u201d If,\nhowever, they wore the \u201cwaking-stone,\u201d they suffered no inconvenience\nfrom their enforced vigils.[243] Evidently this stone would be a\nprecious possession for night-watchmen, and a more satisfactory\nguarantee for their employers than \u201ctimeclocks\u201d or other tests of\nwakefulness.\n\nIn his commentary on Marbodus, Alardus of Amsterdam relates the history\nof a wonderful luminous stone, a \u201cchrysolampis,\u201d which, with many other\nprecious stones, was set in a marvellous golden tablet dedicated to\nSt. Adelbert, apostle of the Frisians and patron of the town of Egmund\n(d. 720-730), by Hildegard, wife of Theodoric, Count of Holland. The\ngift was made to the Abbey of Egmund, where the saint\u2019s body reposed.\nAlardus tells us that the \u201cchrysolampis\u201d shone so brightly that when\nthe monks were called to the chapel in the night-time, they could read\nthe Hours without any other light. This wonderful stone was stolen by\none of the monks, whom Alardus terms \u201cthe most rapacious creature who\never went on two legs\u201d; but, fearing to keep so valuable a gem with\nhim, he cast it into the sea and it was never recovered.[244]\n\nStrange tales were told of a luminous \u201ccarbuncle\u201d on the shrine of St.\nElizabeth (d. 1231) at Marburg. This stone was set above the statuette\nof the Virgin, and it was said to emit fiery rays at night. However,\nCreuzer informs us that it was only a very brilliant rock crystal of a\nyellowish-white hue. The shrine was an elaborate work of art in silver\ngilt, and was literally covered with precious stones to the number of\n824, besides two large pearls and a great many smaller ones. All these\ngems were stripped from their settings when the shrine was taken from\nMarburg to Cassel in 1810.[245]\n\nAt the Dusseldorf Exhibition of 1891, the writer saw what was called\n\u201cThe Ring of St. Elizabeth,\u201d purporting to be set with her miraculously\nluminous ruby. The stone in the setting proved, however, to be a large\nalmost flat carbuncle garnet of no great brilliancy, set in a narrow\nrim of gold.\n\nAfter noting the reports of medieval travellers regarding the wonderful\nluminous rubies of the sovereigns of Pegu and repeating the tale that\nthe night was illumined by their splendor, Cleandro Arnobio adds that\nit did not appear that any such rubies were to be found in his day.\nNevertheless, he had heard from an ecclesiastic of a certain jewel that\nshone brightly at night. This stone, however, was not a ruby, but was\nof a pale citron hue, and hence Arnobio inclines to believe that it was\neither a topaz or a yellow diamond.[246] This probably refers to the\nMarburg \u201ccarbuncle.\u201d\n\nThe luminous \u201cruby\u201d of the King of Ceylon is noted by Chau Ju-Kua,[247]\na Chinese writer of about the middle of the thirteenth century and\nhence a contemporary of the Arab Teifashi. He says: \u201cThe king holds\nin his hand a jewel five inches in diameter, which cannot be burned\nby fire, and which shines in the night like a torch.\u201d This gigantic\nluminous gem was also believed to possess the virtues of an elixir of\nyouth, for we are told that the king rubbed his face with it daily and\nby this means would retain his youthful looks even should he live more\nthan ninety years.\n\nThe glories of Emperor Manuel\u2019s (ca. 1120-1180) throne are celebrated\nby the Hebrew traveller Benjamin of Tudela, who visited Constantinople\nin 1161 A.D. This splendid throne was of gold studded with precious\nstones and, suspended from the canopy by gold chains, hung a\nmagnificent golden crown set with jewels of incalculable value and so\nbright and sparkling that their glitter rendered needless any other\nillumination at night.[248]\n\nWhen Henry II of France (1519-1559) made his solemn entry into the\ncity of Boulogne, a stranger from India presented to the sovereign a\nluminous stone. It was rather soft, had a fiery brilliance, and could\nnot be touched with impunity. According to De Thou, this story was\nvouched for by J. Pipin, who saw the stone himself and described it in\na letter to Antoine Mizauld, a writer on occult themes, well known in\nhis day.[249]\n\nAlthough Garcias ab Orta did not believe in the tales current in his\ntime regarding luminous rubies, he relates a story of such a stone told\nto him by a gem-dealer. This man stated that he had purchased a number\nof fine but small rubies from Ceylon, and had spread them out over\na table. When he gathered them up again, one of the stones remained\nhidden in a fold of the table-cloth. In the night he remarked something\nlike a flame emanating from the table. Lighting a candle, he approached\nthe table and found there the small ruby; when this was removed and\nthe candle extinguished, the light was no longer visible. Garcias\nadmits that the gem-dealers were fond of telling good stories, but he\nconcludes with the dictum, \u201cwe must trust in them nevertheless.\u201d[250]\n\nNot only the ruby, but the emerald also had the reputation of being\na luminous stone, for, besides the shining \u201cemerald\u201d pillar in the\ntemple of Melkart at Tyre, Pliny records the tale of a marble lion,\nwith eyes of gleaming emeralds, which was set over the tomb of \u201ca\npetty king called Hermias.\u201d This tomb was on the coast, and the\nflashing light from the emerald eyes frightened away the tunny-fish,\nto the great loss of the fishermen.[251] Whether the eyes of the\nmagnificent chryselephantine statue of Athene by Phidias were supposed\nto be luminous we do not know, but they were incrusted with precious\nstones.[252]\n\nThe collection of works by the English alchemists, published by Elias\nAshmole, contains the tale of a worthy parson who lived in a little\ntown near London, and who wished to immortalize himself by building\nacross the Thames a bridge which would always be lighted at night.\nAfter relating several expedients which suggested themselves to him,\nthe poet continues:\n\n    At the laste he thought to make the light,\n    For the Bridge to shine by nighte,\n    With _Carbuncle Stones_, to make men wonder,\n    With double reflexion above and under:\n    Then new thought troubled his Minde\n    _Carbuncle Stones_ how he might finde;\n\n    And where to find wise men and trewe,\n    Which would for his interest pursue,\n    In seeking all the Worlde about,\n    Plenty of Carbuncles to find out;\n    For this he took so mickle thought,\n    That his fatt flesh wasted nigh to naught.[253]\n\nIt is scarcely necessary to add that the poor parson never realized his\ndream, but the story shows how popular was the belief that carbuncles\nor rubies shone with their own light.\n\nA luminous or phosphorescent stone, which has been named the Bologna\nstone, is the subject of a treatise published by the physician Mentzel\nin 1675.[254] The writer describes various experiments made to test\nthe peculiar qualities of this mineral, which is partly a radiated or\ncrystalline sulphate of barytes, and phosphoresces when calcined. It\nwas sometimes called the \u201clunar stone\u201d (_lapis lunaris_), because,\nlike the moon, it gave out in the darkness the light it received from\nthe sun. Mentzel also relates that the stone was first discovered, in\n1604, by Vincenzio Casscioroli, an adept in alchemy, who believed that\nit would be a great aid in the transmutation of the baser metals into\ngold, on account of its solar quality. The place of its occurrence was\nMonte Paterno, near Bologna, where it appeared in the fissures of the\nmountain, after torrential rains.\n\n[Illustration: TITLE PAGE OF ROBERT BOYLE\u2019S WORK ON THE ORIGIN AND\nVIRTUES OF GEMS.\n\nPrinted in Cologne in 1680.]\n\nThe various phenomena of fluorescence and phosphorescence undoubtedly\nexplain some at least of the legends regarding luminous stones,\nsuperstition or fantasy having here as in most other cases a certain\nsubstratum of fact. This class of physical phenomena has been made\nthe subject of special investigation by the author, as many as\n13,000 specimens of various minerals having been subjected to the\nmost searching tests in order to determine their qualities in this\nrespect.[255] His interest in this field of research was greatly\nstimulated by a fortuitous happening. In 1891 his wife, while hanging\nup a gown in a closet one evening, saw that the diamond in a ring she\nwas wearing gave off a faint streak of light which was very noticeable\nin the dark, and this fact led to a long series of experiments on\nthe fluorescence, phosphorescence, and triboluminescence of the\ndiamond.[256] More than two centuries before, Robert Boyle made a\nsimilar set of experiments at night with a diamond which must have been\nan Indian stone, and which he describes as table cut, about one-third\nof an inch long and somewhat less in width; he remarks that it was a\ndull stone of very bad water, having a blemish with a whitish cloud\ncovering nearly a third of the stone.[257]\n\nThe \u201cJournal des S\u00e7avans\u201d for 1739 gives certain tests of the luminous\nquality of diamonds made by Mons. Du Fay. In order successfully to\nobserve this phenomenon, he prescribes that the experimenter shall\nremain in a darkened room for fifteen minutes, taking the additional\nprecaution of closing one or both of his eyes. The diamond to be\ntested should be exposed to the sun\u2019s rays, or to strong daylight, for\nless than a minute, and when taken into darkness the luminosity, if\nobservable, lasts twelve or thirteen minutes at longest. Not all\ndiamonds show this quality, and nothing in their form or appearance\nserves to determine their possession of it. However, Mons. du Fay\nobserved that the yellow diamonds, of which he tried a considerable\nnumber, were luminous. A single emerald, out of twenty that were\ntested, proved to be luminous.[258]\n\n[Illustration: 1. Self-print of upper diamond of No. 4 by\nphosphorescence, produced by rubbing briskly with stick covered by\nwoolen cloth. Exposure one-half minute.\n\n2. Self-print, both diamonds, after one minute\u2019s exposure to\nultra-violet light, electric action eliminated.\n\n3. Self-print, upper diamond. Exposure one-fourth minute.\n\n4. Upper: blue-white Tiffanyite diamond, 14.86 carats; Bagagem Mine,\nBrazil. Lower: purple-black diamond, 13.35 carats; Brazil.\n\n5. Self-print, both diamonds; different position.\n\n6. Aspect of both diamonds (No. 4), one minute\u2019s exposure, ultra-violet\nlight; blue-white phosphorescing white, purple-black having red glow.]\n\nBoyle\u2019s experiments led to the discovery that some diamonds, when\nrubbed against wood or other hard substances, and even against cloth or\nsilk, will emit a ray of light which seems to follow them; this is what\nis called triboluminescence.\n\nThe power of absorbing sunlight or artificial light and then giving\nit off in the dark is only possessed by certain diamonds. These are\nBrazilian stones, slightly milky in tint, or blue-white as they are\noften termed, and it is an included substance and not the diamond\nitself that possesses the power of storing up light and then giving it\nout. Willemite, kunzite, sphalerite (sulphide of zinc) and some other\nminerals possess the same power. Their peculiar property may be due to\nthe presence of a slight quantity of manganese or to that of some of\nthe uranium salts. That it is only the ultra-violet rays that are thus\nabsorbed by these diamonds is proved by the fact that the phenomenon\nis not observable when a thin plate of glass is interposed between the\nsunlight or artificial light and the diamond, as glass is not traversed\nby these rays. The still undetermined substance to whose presence in\ndiamonds of this type the special class of phenomena must be due,\nwas named by the author tiffanyite, in honor of the late Charles L.\nTiffany (1812-1902), founder of the firm of Tiffany & Company.[259]\n\nOn the other hand all diamonds phosphoresce when exposed to the rays of\nradium, polonium, or actinium, even when glass is interposed. Treating\nof some of the aspects of phosphorescence in diamonds, Sir William\nCrookes says:[260]\n\n In a vacuum, exposed to a high-tension current of electricity,\n diamonds phosphoresce of different colours, most South African\n diamonds shining with a bluish light. Diamonds from other localities\n emit bright blue, apricot, pale blue, red, yellowish-green, orange,\n and pale green light. The most phosphorescent diamonds are those\n which are fluorescent in the sun. One beautiful green diamond in my\n collection, when phosphorescing in a good vacuum, gives almost as much\n light as a candle, and you can easily read by its rays. But the time\n has hardly come when diamonds can be used as domestic illuminants!\n\n By permission of Mrs. Kunz, wife of the well-known New York\n mineralogist, I will show you perhaps the most remarkable of all\n phosphorescing diamonds. This prodigy diamond will phosphoresce in\n the dark for some minutes after being exposed to a small pocket\n electric light, and if rubbed on a piece of cloth a long streak of\n phosphorescence appears.\n\nThe luminescence produced by heat is wonderfully marked in the case\nof chlorophane, a variety of fluorite. A Siberian specimen of a pale\nviolet color emitted a white light merely from the heat of the hand;\nboiling water caused it to give out a green light, which was so greatly\nintensified when the specimen rested on a live coal that the radiance\ncould be discerned from a considerable distance. Similar phenomena were\nobservable in the case of chlorophane from Amelia Court House, Va.,\nand the writer found that specimens from this source also exhibited\nstrong triboluminescence, resulting either from contact with one\nanother, or with any hard substance.[261]\n\nAs the terms fluorescence and phosphorescence are sometimes rather\ncarelessly employed, it may be well to note here that while both terms\nare used to denote the luminescence of a non-luminous body resulting\nfrom the action of light rays, of the electric current, or of radiant\nenergy of any kind, as well as from heat, fluorescence signifies a\nluminosity which only continues so long as the exciting cause is\npresent, while phosphorescence means a luminosity persisting for a\nlonger or shorter period after the exciting cause has ceased to operate\ndirectly. The latter term therefore denotes a luminous energy stored up\nin the formerly non-luminous body and emitted by it for a certain time,\nat the expiration of which it again becomes non-luminous. Other special\ndesignations of induced luminosity in minerals are triboluminescence,\nthe emission of light as a result of friction and thermoluminescence, a\nterm used to denote light-emission excited by moderate heating, even by\nthe warmth of the hand.\n\nAn old treatise in Greek, said in its title to come from \u201cthe sanctuary\nof the temple,\u201d and containing material, partly of Egyptian origin,\nmay help us to understand something of the processes employed by a\ntemple priest to impress the common people by the sight of luminous\ngems. The writer of the treatise declares that for the production of\n\u201cthe carbuncle that shines in the night\u201d use was made of certain parts\n(he says \u201cthe bile\u201d) of marine animals whose entrails, scales and\nbones exhibited the phenomenon of phosphorescence. If properly treated,\nprecious stones (preferably carbuncles) would glow so brightly at night\n\u201cthat anyone owning such a stone could read or write by its light as\nwell as he could by daylight.\u201d[262]\n\nIn the _Annales de Chimie et Physique_, the great French chemist,\nM. Berthelot, discusses this matter and expresses the following\nopinion[263]\n\n \u201cThe texts leave no room for doubt as to the employment by the\n ancients of precious stones rendered phosphorescent in the dark by\n the superficial application of tinctures composed of materials whose\n phosphorescent quality is known to us. Although this luminescence, due\n to an application of organic oxidizable materials, could not well be\n durable, still it might be made to last several hours, perhaps several\n days, and it could always be renewed by repeating the application.\u201d\n\nThe use of jewelled ornaments to heighten by their luminosity in\nobscurity or in darkness the effect produced by a sacred image, and\nto stimulate religious awe in the beholder, is testified to by the\nultra-Protestant traveller, Fynes Moryson, Gent., who went to Italy\nin 1594. Of his visit to the Santa Casa in Loreto, he says that he\nhimself and two Dutchmen, his companions, were permitted to enter the\ninner chapel of the sanctuary, \u201cwhere,\u201d he proceeds, \u201cwe did see the\nVirgin\u2019s picture, adorned with pretious Jewels, and the place (to\nincrease religious horror) being darke, yet the Jewels shined by the\nlight of wax candles.\u201d Although there is no question here of naturally\nluminous gems, this might have been the impression produced upon a\nmore sympathetic pilgrim.[264]\n\nWriting of the traditions in regard to luminous stones, Sir Richard F.\nBurton says, \u201cThere may be a basis of fact to this fancy, the abnormal\neffect of precious stones upon mesmeric sensitives.\u201d[265] However,\nwhile some instances are recorded of psychic impression produced by\nprecious stones on the minds of persons possessing a highly sensitive\nnervous system, it seems likely that some legends of luminous stones\nhad their origin in the refractive powers of cut gems, by means of\nwhich a dim and distant light would be reflected from the surface of\nthe stones and would seem to spring from them. Quite possibly, in other\ninstances, there was a disposition to cater to the popular belief\nby placing a light so that the hidden beams traversed the stone and\nappeared to emanate from it.\n\n\n\n\nVI\n\nOn Crystal Balls and Crystal Gazing\n\n\nWe have evidence of the use of crystal balls as means of divination\nin medieval times, and \u201cscrying\u201d in some of its many forms was by no\nmeans rare in the Greek and Roman periods. The essential requisite for\nthe exercise of this species of divination is a polished surface of\nsome sort upon which the scryer shall gaze intently; for this purpose\nmirrors, globules of lead or quicksilver, polished steel, the surface\nof water, and even pools of ink, have been employed and have been found\nto insure quite as satisfactory results as the crystal ball. The points\nof light reflected from the polished surface (_points de rep\u00e8re_)\nserve to attract the attention of the gazer and to fix the eye until,\ngradually, the optic nerve becomes so fatigued that it finally ceases\nto transmit to the sensorium the impression made from without and\nbegins to respond to the reflex action proceeding from the brain of the\ngazer. In this way the impression received from within is apparently\nprojected and seems to come from without. It is easy to understand that\nthe results must vary according to the idiosyncrasy of the various\nscryers; for everything depends upon the sensitiveness of the optic\nnerve. In many cases the effect of prolonged gazing upon the brilliant\nsurface will simply produce a loss of sight, the optic nerve will be\ntemporarily paralyzed and will as little respond to stimulation from\nwithin as from without; in other cases, however, the nerve will be only\ndeadened as regards external impressions, while retaining sufficient\nactivity to react against a stimulus from the brain centres. It is\nalmost invariably stated that, prior to the appearance of the desired\nvisions, the crystal seems to disappear and a mist rises before the\ngazer\u2019s eye.\n\n[Illustration: ROCK-CRYSTAL BALL PENETRATED BY CRYSTALS OF RUTILE.\nMADAGASCAR.]\n\nThe Achaians, as Pausanius relates, frequently used a mirror to divine\ndiseases or to learn whether there was danger of sudden death. Of the\nTemple of Demeter, or Ceres, at Patras, he writes:[266]\n\n In front of the temple of Demeter there is a well. A stone wall\n separates this well from the temple, but steps lead down to it from\n the outside. Here there is an infallible oracle, although it does not\n answer all questions, but only those touching diseases. They attach a\n slender cord to a mirror and let it down into the well, balancing it\n carefully so that the water does not cover the face, but only touches\n the rim. Then, after making a prayer to the goddess and burning\n incense to her, they look into the mirror, and it shows whether the\n sick person will die or recover. Such is the power of truth in this\n water.\n\nThis sacred well with its oracle of the magic mirror must have been in\nLucian\u2019s mind when, in his description of the palace of the Moon-King,\nhe says:[267]\n\n Another wonderful thing I saw in the palace. Suspended over a rather\n shallow well there is a large mirror, and anyone who goes down into\n this well will hear every word that is spoken on earth, while, if he\n gazes on the mirror, he will see there every city and every nation\n just as clearly as though he were looking down upon them from a slight\n elevation. At the time I was there, I saw my native country and its\n inhabitants. Whether I myself was seen by them in turn, I am not sure.\n\nLucian adds, with a fine touch of irony, \u201cAnyone who doubts this\nassertion needs only to go there himself and he will find out that\nI speak the truth.\u201d As no one has yet made a trip to the moon, the\nassertion is still uncontradicted.\n\nIn their religious legends the ancient Mexicans taught that their\ngod Tezcatlipuco had a magic mirror in which he saw everything that\nhappened in the world.[268] He was sometimes named Necocyautl, \u201csower\nof discord,\u201d because he often stirred up war and strife among men,\nbut he was also lord of riches and prosperity, which he bestowed\nand took away again at his will. To the influence of this divinity\nwere attributed many omens and certain strange visions, announced by\nrepeated knockings.[269]\n\nIn the Orphic poem \u201cLithica,\u201d a magic sphere of stone is described.\nThe substance is called \u201csideritis\u201d or \u201cophitis,\u201d and is said to be\nblack, round, and heavy; possibly some metal, rather than a stone, is\ndesignated by these names. Helenus, the Trojan soothsayer, is said to\nhave used this sphere to foretell the downfall of his native city.\nHe fasted for twenty-one days and then wrapped the sphere in soft\ngarments, like an infant, and offered sacrifices to it until, by the\nmagic of his prayers, \u201ca living soul warmed the precious substance.\u201d\n\nA strange variety of divination by means of mirrors placed on the heads\nof boys, who, with eyes blindfolded, were supposed to perceive forms\nor signs of some description in the mirrors, is noted by Spartianus\nin his life of the Emperor Didius Julianus (ca. 133-193). This ruler\nis said to have resorted to this form of divination, and the boy\nentrusted with the task is asserted to have announced the approaching\naccession of Septimius Severus (146-211) and the dethronement of Didius\nJulianus.[270]\n\nAn indication that the usage of divination by means of a silver cup\nexisted among the primitive Hebrews has been found in the story of\nJoseph and his brethren. In Genesis xliv, 1-5, we read that Joseph\nconcealed a silver cup in the sack of grain borne away by Benjamin,\nmaking of this a pretext for requiring the return of his brethren.\nHe sent messengers to overtake them and directed them to demand the\nreturn of the cup, using these words: \u201cIs not this it in which my lord\ndrinketh, and whereby indeed he divineth?\u201d\n\nThe Arabic author, Haly Abou Gefar, tells of a golden ball used by\n\u201cthe Magi, followers of Zoroaster,\u201d in their incantations. It was\nincrusted with celestial symbols and set with a sapphire, and one of\nthese magicians, after attaching it to a strip of bullhide, swung it\naround, reciting at the same time various spells and incantations.[271]\nProbably the magician, by fixing his gaze upon the brilliant revolving\nsphere, gradually fell into a hypnotic trance, during which visions\nappeared to him. These he could afterward interpret to those who had\nsought his aid to read the future, or obtain information regarding\nthings that were happening far away.\n\nAn important side-light on the beliefs of Western Europe, in the fifth\ncentury, regarding crystal-gazing, is afforded by one of the canons of\nthe synod held about 450 A.D. by St. Patrick and the bishops Auxilius\nand Issernanus. Here it is decreed that any Christian who believes\nthere is a Lamia (or witch) in the mirror is to be anathematized,\nand is not to be again received into the Church unless he shall have\nrenounced this belief and shall have diligently performed the penance\nimposed upon him.[272] In this case, as in many others, the vision in\nthe crystal or mirror did not represent some former or contemporaneous\nhappening, but the figure of an evil spirit, who, either by signs or\nwords, imparted to the scryer the information he was seeking.\n\nThe power to see images of evil spirits on the surface of water was\nclaimed by those called _hydromantii_ in the ninth century. This is\nattested in a work composed about 860 A.D. by Hincmar, Archbishop\nof Rheims, who characterizes the supposed appearances as \u201cimages or\ndeceptions of the demons.\u201d These diviners asserted that they received\naudible communications from the spirits, and they therefore evidently\nbelieved that the appearances were realities.[273]\n\nAlthough, as we have seen, many different materials were used for\nscrying, the preference was often given to polished spheres of beryl;\nin modern times, however, the rock-crystal is considered the best\nadapted for the purpose.\n\nIn his introduction to \u201cCrystal Gazing,\u201d by N. W. Thomas,[274] Andrew\nLang writes of what he terms hypnagogic illusions\u2014images which appear\nwhen the eyes are closed and before sleep supervenes. When faces\nappeared to him in this way, they were always unfamiliar ones, with the\nsingle exception of having once seen his own face in profile. The same\nwas almost invariably true of landscape and inanimate objects. These\nforms seemed to grow out of the bright points of light which frequently\nappear when the eyes are closed, and Lang suggests a similar origin for\nthe visions of the \u201cscryers\u201d\u2014namely, the development of the images\nfrom dark or light points in the glass.\n\nIn regard to this, we have an interesting passage in the works of Ibn\nKaldoun, a Persian writer, born in 1332, who gives the following very\nacute analysis of the phenomena accompanying crystal-gazing.[275]\n\n Some believe that the image perceived in this way takes form on the\n surface of the mirror, but they are mistaken. The diviner looks at\n this surface fixedly until it disappears, and a curtain, like a mist,\n is interposed between him and the mirror. Upon this curtain are\n designed the forms he wishes to see, and this permits him to give\n indications, either affirmative or negative, concerning the matter on\n which he is questioned. He then describes his perceptions as he has\n received them. The diviners, while in this state, do not see what is\n really to be seen (in the mirror); it is another kind of perception,\n which is born in them and which is realized not by sight but by the\n soul.\n\nAs to the character and quality of the crystal to be used, Abbot\nTritheim, the master of the famous Cornelius Agrippa, says:[276]\n\n Procure of a lapidary a good, clear, pellucid crystal of the bigness\n of a small orange,\u2014_i.e._, about one inch and a half in diameter;\n let it be globular, or round each way alike; then you have got this\n crystal fair and clear, without any clouds or specks. Get a small\n plate of pure gold to encompass the crystal round one-half; let this\n be fitted on an ivory or ebony pedestal. Let there be engraved a\n circle round the crystal; afterwards the name: Tetragrammaton. On\n the other side of the plate let there be engraved, Michael, Gabriel,\n Uriel, Raphael, which are the four principal angels ruling over the\n Sun, Moon, Venus, and Mercury.\n\nThe four letters constituting the Tetragrammaton are the Hebrew\ncharacters _y\u00f4dh_, _h\u00ea_, _w\u00e2w_ and _h\u00ea_, \u05d9\u05d4\u05d5\u05d4. As this divine name\nwas regarded in later Judaism as too sacred to be pronounced, the\nword lord, _adonai_, was substituted for it in the reading of the\nScriptures. For this reason, when the vowel signs were added to the\ntext to indicate the traditional pronunciation, the consonants Yhwh\nwere provided with the vowels of _adonai_ and the name was therefore\nread Jehovah by Christian scholars.\n\nThe Persian poet J\u00e2mi writes thus of a magic mirror in the poem\n\u201cSalam\u00e2n and Absal\u201d:[277]\n\n    Then from his secret Art the Sage Vizyr\n    A Magic Mirror made; a Mirror like\n    The bosom of All-wise Intelligence,\n    Reflecting in its mystic compass all\n    Within the sev\u2019nfold volume of the World\n    Involved; and looking in that Mirror\u2019s face\n    The Shah beheld the face of his Desire.\n\nRoger Bacon (1214-1292) was probably the most gifted man of the\nthirteenth century, and his writings testify to an extraordinarily\nclear perception of the essential principles of scientific research.\nHowever, his true greatness was not generally appreciated in his own\nage, and popular fancy wove about his name a fabric of legend in which\nhe appeared as an arch-necromancer and magician. The curious old work\nentitled \u201cThe Famous Historie of Fryar Bacon\u201d gives a number of the\nstrange recitals which became current in England in regard to Bacon\u2019s\nwonderful powers.\n\n[Illustration: GLASS BALL, PERFORATED AND MOUNTED IN METAL, SO THAT IT\nCAN BE SUSPENDED AND USED FOR OCCULT AND CURATIVE PURPOSES.\n\nPeriod of about tenth or twelfth century. Collection of Sir Charles\nHercules Read.]\n\n[Illustration: BALL OF JET, PERFORATED, MOUNTED IN METAL, SO THAT IT\nCAN BE SUSPENDED AND USED FOR OCCULT AND CURATIVE PURPOSES.\n\nPeriod of about tenth or twelfth century. Collection of Sir Charles\nHercules Read.]\n\n[Illustration: EYE AGATE, SHOWING A NUMBER OF CIRCULAR MARKINGS.\n\nMounted in metal and kept in a box, as a votive or curative stone.\nAbout fourteenth century. British Museum. (See page 149.)]\n\nOne of these treats of a marvellous \u201cglass\u201d made by the friar, in\nwhich events happening at far-distant places were mirrored. On one\noccasion two young men, between whom the friendliest feelings existed,\ncame to Bacon and requested him to let them see in the mirror what\ntheir fathers were doing at the time. The friar consented, but the\nexperiment, while successful, was the cause of a terrible misfortune.\nThe story is as follows:\n\n The Fathers of these two Gentlemen (in their Sonnes absence) were\n become great foes: this hatred betweene them was growne to that\n height, that wheresoever they met, they had not onely wordes, but\n blowes. Just at that time, as it should seeme, that their Sonnes were\n looking to see how they were in health, they were met, and had drawne,\n and were together by the eares. Their Sonnes seeing this, and having\n been alwayes great friends, knew not what to say to one another, but\n beheld each other with angry lookes. At last one of their Fathers, as\n they might perceive in the Glasse, had a fall, and the other, taking\n advantage, stood over him ready to strike him. The Sonne of him that\n was downe could then containe himselfe no longer, but told the other\n young man, that his Father had received wrong. He answered againe,\n that it was faire. At last there grew such foule words betweene them,\n and their bloods were so heated, that they presently stabbed the one\n the other with their Daggers, and so fell downe dead.\n\nThe sceptre of the Scottish regalia is surmounted by a crystal globe,\ntwo inches and a quarter in diameter, and the mace by a large crystal\nberyl. In former times these stones were regarded as amulets and their\nuse was traced back to the Druids. Sir Walter Scott tells us that\nin his time they were still known among the Scottish Highlanders as\n\u201cStones of Power.\u201d[278]\n\nThe testimony of John of Salisbury (1120?-1180) shows that in the\ntwelfth century, in England, divination by means of the arts of the\n_specularii_ was often practised. The prelate writes that when a boy,\nhe himself and a companion a few years older received instruction from\na priest who was addicted to the use of these magic arts. This priest\nused to polish the finger-nails of the boys with a consecrated oil or\nointment, and then direct them to look upon the polished surface until\nsome figure or form should appear. Sometimes the smooth, polished\nsurface of a basin was used. John of Salisbury regarded it as a mark of\ndivine favor that he himself saw nothing upon the smooth and lustrous\nsurface, but he states that his companion observed certain vague\nand shadowy forms. Certain names pronounced by the priest on these\noccasions terrified the boy, for he believed them to be the names of\nevil spirits; indeed, such was his reluctance to participate in the\nunholy rites that his presence was believed to interfere with the\nproduction of the phenomena.[279]\n\nIn another part of his \u201cPolicraticus,\u201d John of Salisbury states that\nthe specularii claimed that their gift of seeing visions on polished\nsurfaces was never used to injure any one, but was often useful in the\ndetection of theft and in counteracting magic spells.[280]\n\nUnder the comprehensive chapter heading: \u201cHow to conjure the crystal\nso that all things may be seen in it,\u201d Paracelsus (1493-1541) declares\nthat \u201cto conjure\u201d means nothing more than \u201cto observe anything rightly,\nto learn and to understand what it is.\u201d The crystal was of the nature\nof the air, and hence all things movable and immovable that could be\nseen in the air could also be seen in the crystal or _speculum_.[281]\n\nParacelsus showed keen insight, and his conclusions are excellent. One\nmight add, however, that it is a fact that these are images condensed\nin the double convex lens, forming as it were, an internal crystal\nsphere. These images are reversed, distorted and twisted, and when they\nbecome visible to one who is expecting strange things, they form mental\nimpressions which it is often very difficult to erase. Many crystal\ngazers are frequently very highly wrought, nervous and susceptible, and\nother influences uniting with the impressions produced, may give the\nbrain for a time the power to evolve kaleidoscopic effects.\n\nDirections for the use of an Erdenspiegel, or \u201cearth-mirror,\u201d are given\nin an old German manuscript written in 1658 by a Capuchin priest.[282]\nThe mirror is to be set about two inches above a board, and the\nquestions to be answered are to be placed beneath it. The scryer is\nrecommended to place three grains of salt upon his tongue, whereupon\nhe is to repeat a prayer and cross himself. He now takes the mirror in\nhis hand and breathes upon it three times, repeating the words, \u201cIn the\nname of the Father, of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen.\u201d\n\nThese preliminaries having been accomplished, the following prayer, or\nrather invocation, is repeated:\n\n O thou holy Archangel N. N., I pray to thee most fervently through the\n great and unsearchable name of the Lord of all Lords and King of all\n Kings, Jod, He, Vau, He, Tetragrammaton, Adonay, Schaday, receive my\n greeting and give ear to the humble petition which I offer in the name\n of the great and highest God, Elohim, Zebaoth, that thou shalt appear\n to me in the world-mirror, and give me knowledge and instruction in\n answer to my questions.\n\nThe strong religious tone of these directions for the use of the mirror\nand the fact that it is a priest who gives them, shows that there was a\ndisposition to tolerate the employment of such \u201cwhite magic.\u201d\n\nIn medieval times it was believed that the vision in the crystal was\nproduced through the agency of an indwelling spirit, and, therefore,\nit was necessary to use some very potent spell to force this spirit\nto enter the stone. Many of these ancient spells have been preserved,\nand they contain a strange and incongruous mixture of religious and\nmagical formulas. In one of these, dating from the end of the fifteenth\ncentury, after a recitation of a long and rambling conjuration, we\nread: \u201cAnd y^{en} ask y^e chylde yf h^e seethe any thyng, and yf no,\nlet the m^r begin his conjuraty\u014d agayn.\u201d As usual the scrying was done\nby a child, the conjuration being spoken by the minister. An important\npart of the conjuration consisted in the repetition of a number of\ndivine names, most of them originally Hebrew, but so much corrupted\nby reciters who did not know their meaning that it is now exceedingly\ndifficult to interpret them correctly.\n\nA proof that this form of magic was often regarded as quite compatible\nwith religion is offered us in a passage from a sixteenth century\nmanuscript,[283] where we read that the crystal should be laid on the\naltar \u201con the Side that the gospell is read on. And let the priest say\na mass on the same Side.\u201d If the conjuration is successful, the same\nmanuscript tells us that \u201cthese angells being once appeared will not\ndepart the glasse or stone untill the Sonne be sett except you licence\nthem.\u201d It also seems that \u201cscrying\u201d was looked upon as a special gift,\nonly granted to a favored few as a peculiar privilege, and we read\nthat \u201cPrayer and a good beleefe prevailed much. For faith is the cay to\nthis and all other works, and without it nothing can be effected.\u201d The\nchild scryer, either maid or boy, should not be more than twelve years\nold.\n\nThat a certain religious spirit, however mistaken, often animated the\ncrystal-gazers of the sixteenth century, is shown in the case of the\n\u201cspeculator\u201d of John a Windor, who confessed that when he led an impure\nlife the \u201cd\u00e6mons\u201d would not appear to him in his glass. He would then\nproceed to fumigate the apartment, as though believing that the very\nair was contaminated by the sins of the operator. We may hope that\nthe seer was not content with this, but also tried to reform his evil\nways. Another scryer, a woman named Sarah Skelhorn, declared that the\nspirits that appeared to her in the glass would often follow her about\nthe house from room to room, so that she at last became weary of their\npresence.[284] Both of these scryers had regular employment, for it was\nquite customary for a gentleman to have a household seer, just as he\nwould have a body-physician, if he could afford it.\n\nA sixteenth century work on magic, the \u201cH\u00f6llenzwang\u201d of Dr. Faustus,\nwhose name has been immortalized for all ages by Goethe, gives very\nparticular and detailed directions for the preparation and consecration\nof a crystal, whether glass or quartz. Faust asks his \u201cMephistophelis\u201d\nwhether such crystals can be made, and the spirit replies: \u201cYes,\nindeed, my Faust,\u201d and directs Faust to go, on a Tuesday, to a\nglass-maker, and get the latter to form a glass. It was requisite that\nthis work should be done in the hour of Mars, that is, in the first,\neighth, fifteenth or twenty-second hour of Tuesday. The crystal when\ncompleted must not be accepted as a gift, but a price must be paid\nfor it. When the object had been secured, Mephistopheles directs that\nit be buried in a grave, where it must be left for the space of three\nweeks; it was then to be unearthed; if a woman purchased it, she must\nbury it in a woman\u2019s grave. However, these preliminaries only served to\nprepare the crystal for the final consecration, as the mere material\nmass was regarded as inert and possessing no virtue until certain\nspirits were summoned to dwell within it. Mephistopheles confesses\nthat he alone would not be powerful enough, and he directs Faust to\ncall upon the spirits Azeruel and Adadiel also. Faust is assured that\nthe three spirits will show him in the crystal whatever he may wish to\nknow. If anything has been stolen, the thief will appear; if any one is\nsuffering from disease, the character of his malady will be revealed,\netc.[285]\n\nAnother way of preparing a crystal glass or mirror is given in the same\nwork. After the glass has been bought it is to be immersed in baptismal\nwater in which a first-born male child has been baptized, and therein\nit is to remain for three weeks. The water is then to be poured out\nover a grave and the sixth chapter of the Revelation of St. John is to\nbe read. Hereupon the following conjuration should be pronounced:\n\n O crystal, thou art a pure and tender virgin, thou standest at one\n of the gates of heaven, that nothing may be hidden from thee; thou\n standest under a cloud of heaven that nothing may be hidden from\n thee, whether in fields or meadows, whether master or servant, whether\n wife or maid. Let this be said to thee in the name of God, as a plea\n for thy help.[286]\n\nThe visions seen in crystal gazing were often supposed to be the work\nof evil spirits, seeking to seduce the souls of men by offering the\npromise of riches or by according them an unlawful glimpse into the\nfuture. Here, as in other magical operations, there was both white and\nblack magic, recourse being had in some cases to good, and in others to\nevil spirits. As an illustration of the latter practice, a sixteenth\ncentury writer relates that in the city of Nuremberg, some time during\nthe year 1530, a \u201cdemon\u201d showed to a priest, in a crystal, the vision\nof a buried treasure. Believing in the truth of this vision, the priest\nwent to the spot indicated, where he found an excavation in the form of\na cavern, in the depths of which he could see a chest and a black dog\nlying alongside it. Eagerly the priest entered the cavern, hoping to\npossess himself of the treasure, but the top of the excavation caved in\nand he was crushed to death.[287]\n\nThe famous charlatan, Dr. Dee, who was for a time a prominent figure at\nthe court of Emperor Rudolph II, was highly favored by Queen Elizabeth.\nThe queen visited him several times, and even appears to have consulted\nhim on political matters. In his diary the doctor relates that the\nqueen called at his house shortly after his wife\u2019s death, which took\nplace March 16, 1575. Of this visit he gives the following details:\n\n The Queen\u2019s Majestie, with her most honorable Privy Council, and other\n the Lords and Nobility, came purposely to have visited my library: but\n finding that my wife was within four hours before buried out of the\n house, her Majestie refused to come in; but willed to fetch my glass\n so famous, and to show unto her some of the properties of it, which\n I did. Her Majestie being taken down from her horse by the Earle of\n Liecester, Master of the Horse, at the church wall of Mortlake, did\n see some of the properties of that glass, to her Majestie\u2019s great\n contentment and delight.[288]\n\nIt was at Mortlake, on December 22, 1581, that Dr. Dee made his first\nessay with his crystal ball. The proceedings were conducted with a\ncertain religious ceremonial, and began with a pious invocation to\nthe angel of the stone. This celestial being soon graciously deigned\nto manifest himself in the stone and\u2014presumably by the voice of the\nscryer\u2014answered the questions put by those present.\n\nThere can be little doubt that Dee used more than one crystal in\nthe course of his experiments; that now in the British Museum is of\ncairngorm, or \u201csmoky-quartz.\u201d This variety of quartz may have been\nchosen because of the Scotch superstitions regarding its virtues; for,\nas a rule, charlatans seek to avail themselves of already existing\nsuperstitions in order to make their innovations more acceptable.\n\n[Illustration: DR. DEE\u2019S SHEW STONE.\n\nNatural size. British Museum. This sphere of smoky-quartz came to the\nBritish Museum in 1700 with the Cottonian Library, donated at that time\nby the grandson of the original collector, Sir Robert Bruce Cotton\n(1571-1631).]\n\n[Illustration: OBSIDIAN MIRROR, WITH NATIVE TEXTILE STRING.\n\nUsed by Aztecs and ancient Mexicans for various purposes. British\nMuseum. Identical in shape and size with that known as \u201cDr. Dee\u2019s\nMirror,\u201d now in the possession of Prince Alexis Soltykoff, of Russia.\nThis was enclosed in a leather-covered case.]\n\nTo give assurance to those who consulted such crystals that no\ndiabolical agency was involved in the production of the phenomena, it\nwas customary that a child should be the crystal-gazer. In Dr. Dee\u2019s\nexperiments, however, it was usually the notorious Kelley, his _\u00e2me\ndamn\u00e9e_, who undertook this task of interpreting the crystal visions.\nThe description given by Dee of a little girl who frequently acted as\nthe intermediary of the higher powers suggests one of the fanciful\ncreations of our great novelist Hawthorne. Her mystic name was Madimi,\nand she is depicted as a pretty girl about eight years old, and with\nlong flowing hair. To make her appearance more conspicuous, she was\nattired in a silk dress with chatoyant effects in red and green.\nAt times, during the s\u00e9ances, this gay little figure could be seen\nflitting about the study, rendered even more whimsical and strange from\nits contrast with the piles of dusty old books, the curiosities, and\nthe magical instruments collected there.[289]\n\nThis visionary maiden Madimi, of whom Dee relates so much in his\ndiary, was apparently a child of fancy, a creation of Kelley\u2019s fertile\nbrain. The diary is somewhat obscure in this particular and easily\nmisunderstood; but there can be little doubt that where Madimi is\nrepresented as speaking, it is Kelley\u2019s voice that transmits to Dee her\nrevelations. One passage, often overlooked, gives evidence of this.\nMadimi has appeared and is addressing her remarks to Kelley and to\nDee by turns; finally, Dee says, \u201cI know you see me often and I see\nyou only by faith and imagination.\u201d To this Madimi quickly retorts,\n\u201cpointing to E. K.\u201d (Kelley), \u201cThat sight is perfecter than his.\u201d\nEvidently we must understand this to signify something that Kelley has\ntold Dee, for the latter\u2019s words show that he did not himself see the\nlittle fairy pointing to his friend. In many respects little Madimi may\nrecall another \u201cspiritual\u201d maiden of whom we heard much a few years\nago, the sprightly little Indian spirit \u201cBright Eyes,\u201d whose love for\ncandy and jewelry was so very earthly.\n\nNot only the quality of the crystal had to be considered, but also its\nsupport and surroundings. Of this we have an interesting instance in\nthe case of Dr. Dee\u2019s crystal. In one of his manuscripts is recorded\nthe fact that on the 10th of March, 1582, Kelley saw in the crystal\na representation of the form and arrangement of the table on which\nit should be set; particular instructions on the matter were also\ndirectly imparted to the scryer by the angel Uriel. The table was to\nbe square, measuring two cubits each way and two cubits in height;\nand it was to have four feet. The material was to be \u201cswete wood\u201d and\nupon it was to be placed the Sigillum Dei (Seal of God) impressed upon\nthe purest, colorless wax, the disk being 1\u215b inches thick and 9\ninches in diameter. It bore a cross and the magic letters A. G. L. A.,\na transliteration into Roman characters of the initials of the Hebrew\nwords signifying \u201cThou are great forever, O Lord.\u201d Four other and\nsmaller seals were to be provided, one to be placed under each leg of\nthe table; each of these seals being impressed with geometrical figures\nwithin or upon which were the seven sacred names of God and the names\nof the seven angels ruling the seven planetary heavens; Zabothiel,\nZedekiel, Madiniel, Semeliel [Semeshiel], Nogabiel, Corabiel [Cocabiel]\nand Levaniel, the angels, respectively, of Saturn, Jupiter, Mars, the\nSun, Venus, Mercury and the Moon. There then appeared to the scryer the\nfigure of the table with the crystal resting upon it. Of this it is\nsaid:[290]\n\n\u201cUnder the table did seeme to be layd red sylk to lye four square\nsomewhat broader than the table, hanging down with four knops or\ntassells at the four corners thereof. Uppon the uppermost red silk\ndid seme to be set the stone with the frame, right over and uppon the\nprincipal seal, saving that the sayd sylk was betwene the one and the\nother.\u201d\n\nIt therefore seems that the prejudice in favor of a black or at least a\ndark background for the crystal did not appeal to Dr. Dee, and indeed\nthe effect of color may perhaps better serve to neutralize troublesome\nreflections than does black.\n\nThe personages Kelley pretended to see in or around the magic crystal\nwere described by him to Dr. Dee in the greatest detail, and this\nundoubtedly served to lend more reality and authority to their\ncommunications. As an illustration of Kelley\u2019s inventiveness in this\nmatter, we may take his description of \u201cNalvage,\u201d a spirit that first\nappeared while the doctor and his famulus were in Cracow, April 10,\n1584, and was subsequently a frequent visitor. The seer introduces his\nnew \u201ccontrol\u201d as follows:[291]\n\n He hath a Gown of white silk, with a Cape with three pendants with\n tassels on the end of them all green; it is fur, white, and seemeth to\n shine, with a wavering glittering. On his head is nothing, he hath no\n berd. His phisiognomy is like the pictures of King Edward the Sixth;\n his hair hangeth down a quarter of the length of the Cap, somewhat\n curling, yellow. He hath a rod or wand in his hand, almost as big as\n my little finger; it is of Gold, and divided into three equal parts,\n with a brighter Gold than the rest. He standeth upon his round table\n of Christal, or rather Mother of Pearl.\n\nWhen reading the words spoken by Kelley and so carefully preserved by\nDr. Dee, we are reminded, aside from the archaic turn of speech, of the\nminute descriptions so glibly given by modern mediums. It is true that\nlately, in America, the spirits of the former owners of the land, of\nthe blameless aborigines, seem to have acquired a quasi monopoly of the\nintercourse with the other world.\n\nMost of the early records of crystal-gazing show conclusively\nenough that the images revealed in the stone were produced by the\nexpectations, the hopes, or the fears of the gazer. In many cases,\nindeed, the vision is only prophetic because it determines the future\nconduct of the person who consults the stone. Fully persuaded that what\nhas been seen must come to pass, he, or she, proceeds more or less\nconsciously to make it happen, to fulfil the prediction.\n\nAs an instance of this we may take from an old German book[292] the\ntale of a lovelorn maiden who seeks the aid of an enchantress to\nlearn whether she will marry her lover, upon whom her parents look\nwith disfavor. The mystic crystal is brought out wrapped in a yellow\nhandkerchief, and is placed in a green bowl beneath which is spread a\nblue cloth, the reflections from these different colors being probably\ncalculated to stimulate the optic nerve and favor the appearance of\nsome picture upon the polished surface of the crystal. The young\ngirl, in rapt attention, looks long and earnestly; at last she cries\nout that she sees her own form and that of her lover. Both look pale\nand sad, and they appear to be about to set forth upon a long and\nperilous journey, for the lover wears riding-boots and carries a brace\nof pistols. The girl is so terrified at the sight that she faints\naway. The sequel of this vision is a runaway match, and we can easily\nunderstand that when the lover proposed this adventure, the girl\nbelieved that it was written in the book of fate and willingly agreed\nto undertake it.\n\nThe great humorous poem \u201cHudibras,\u201d wherein all the foibles of the\nseventeenth century are castigated, does not fail to make mention of\nDee and Kelley and their crystal. Of the sorcerer whose aid Hudibras\nseeks we are told:[293]\n\n    He\u2019d read Dee\u2019s prefaces before,\n    The Dev\u2019l and Euclid o\u2019er and o\u2019er;\n    And all th\u2019 intrigues \u2019twixt him and Kelley,\n    Lascus and th\u2019 Emperor, would tell ye.\n\n    Kelley did all his feats upon\n    The devil\u2019s looking-glass, a stone\n    Where, playing with him at bo-peep\n    He solved all problems ne\u2019er so deep.\n\nIn his experiments in crystal-gazing, Dr. Dee evidently used more than\none crystal, and did not indeed confine the operations of his scryer\nor scryers to brilliant spheres. In the collection of Horace Walpole,\nat Strawberry Hill, was a polished slab of black stone, obsidian, from\nMexico. This came into the possession of Mr. Smythe Piggott and later\n(1853) into that of Lord Londesborough; it is now in the collection\nof Prince Alexis Soltykoff. Horace Walpole wrote a label for the\nstone, in which he says that it had long been owned by the Mordaunts,\nEarls of Peterborough, and was described in the catalogue of their\ncollection as the black stone into which Dr. Dee used to call his\nspirits. Later it was owned by John Campbell, Duke of Argyle, who gave\nit to Horace Walpole.[294] Undoubtedly any polished surface, whether\nflat or convex, might serve the purpose of the scryer almost equally\nwell; the possible advantage of a convex or a spherical form consists\nin the multiplying of the reflections and light points so that the\nsight is induced to wander from point to point, and that forms and\neven motions are suggested by the superposition and combination of the\nvarious reflections. Often, too, a light point visible to one eye will\nnot be so to the other, this sometimes provoking the phenomenon of\nbinocular vision, which asserts itself for a moment or two, when the\ndiverse images coalesce again, though imperfectly, giving an impression\nof movement. For one gifted with imagination and the natural quality\nof visualizing brain-pictures, these shifting light-points and the\nmore or less definite and repeated reflections of surrounding objects\noffer abundant material out of which to construct lifelike pictures\napparently seen in the crystal. That the brain-pictures thus thrown\nout, so to speak, upon the crystal, may or may not have a peculiar\npsychic value, other than their value as mere phenomena, depends upon\nthe significance we are inclined to attribute to the processes of the\nsubconscious intelligence; of its existence, indeed, there can be no\ndoubt, and many of our best thinkers incline to the belief that through\nit the narrow limits of our personality are occasionally transcended.\n\n[Illustration: 1, 2, 3. Rock-crystal spheres having portions of the\nsurface ground so that they are rendered partially opaque.\n\n4. Natural cross of rock-crystal. On dolomite, Ossining, New York.]\n\nThe following history and description of a crystal ball is given by\nJohn Aubrey (1626-1697):\n\n I have here set down the figure of a consecrated Beryl\u2014now in the\n possession of Sir Edward Harley, Knight of the Bath, which he keeps\n in his closet at Brampton Bryan in Herefordshire amongst his Cimelia,\n which I saw there. It came first from Norfolk; a minister had it\n there, and a call was to be made with it. Afterwards a miller had it\n and he did work great cures with it (if curable), and in the Beryl\n they did see, either the receipt in writing, or else the herb. To this\n minister, the spirits or angels would appear openly, and because the\n miller (who was his familiar friend) one day happened to see them, he\n gave him the aforesaid Beryl and Call; by these angels the minister\n was forewarned of his death. This account I had from Mr. Ashmole.\n Afterwards this Beryl came into somebody\u2019s hand in London who did tell\n strange things by it; insomuch that at last he was questioned for it,\n and it was taken away by authority (it was about 1645). This Beryl\n is a perfect sphere, the diameter of it I guess to be something more\n than an inch; it is set in a ring, or circle, of silver, resembling\n the meridian of a globe; the stem of it is about ten inches high, all\n gilt. At the four quarters of it are the names of four angels, viz:\n Uriel, Raphael, Michael, Gabriel. On the top is a cross patee.[295]\n\nIn his \u201cSaducismus Triumphatus,\u201d Joseph Glanvil writes that \u201cone\nCompton of Summersetshire, who practised Physick, and pretends to\nstrange Matters,\u201d demonstrated his power to evoke the image of a\ndistant person on the surface of a mirror. Glanvil relates that Compton\noffered to show to a Mr. Hill any one the latter wished to see. Hill\n\u201chad no great confidence in his talk,\u201d but replied that he desired to\nsee his wife who was many miles distant. \u201cUpon this, Compton took up\na Looking-glass that was in the Room, and setting it down again, bid\nmy Friend look in it, which he did, and then, as he most solemnly and\nseriously professeth, he saw the exact Image of his Wife, in that Habit\nwhich she then wore and working at her Needle in such a part of the\nRoom (then represented also) in which and about which time she really\nwas, as he found upon enquiry when he came home. The Gentleman himself\naverred this to me, and he is a very sober, intelligent, and credible\nPerson. Compton had no knowledge of him before, and was an utter\nstranger to the Person of his Wife. He was by all accounts a very odd\nPerson.\u201d[296]\n\nA contemporary record recites that when a certain Sir Marmaduke\nLangdale (of the seventeenth century) was in Italy, he went to a\nsorcerer and was shown in a glass his own figure kneeling before a\ncrucifix. Though a Protestant at this time, he shortly after became\na Catholic.[297] If we exclude all idea of trickery, it is likely\nenough that the idea of becoming a Catholic was already present to the\nscryer\u2019s mind and called up this picture before him.\n\nThe celebrated Cagliostro, a Sicilian whose real name was Giuseppe\nBalsamo, among his other arts to excite curiosity and play upon the\nsuperstition of his contemporaries, had recourse to a species of\ncrystal-gazing. In the only authentic biography of this extraordinary\nimpostor occurs the following passage, which we give in Carlyle\u2019s\nversion:[298]\n\n Cagliostro brought a little Boy into the Lodge, son of a nobleman\n there. He placed him on his knees before a table, whereon stood a\n Bottle of pure water, and behind this some lighted candles: he made\n an exorcism round the boy, put his hand on his head and both, in this\n attitude, addressed their prayers to God for the happy accomplishment\n of the work. Having bid the child look into the Bottle, directly the\n child cried that he saw a garden. Knowing hereby that Heaven assisted\n him, Cagliostro took courage, and bade the child ask of God the grace\n to see the angel Michael. At first the child said: \u201cI see something\n white; I know not what it is.\u201d Then he began jumping, stamping like\n a possessed creature, and cried: \u201cThere now! I see a child like\n myself, that seems to have something angelical.\u201d All the assembly, and\n Cagliostro himself, remained speechless with emotion.... The child\n being anew exorcised with the hand of the Venerable on his head, and\n the customary prayer addressed to Heaven, he looked into the Bottle,\n and said he saw his sister at that moment coming down stairs, and\n embracing one of her brothers. That appeared impossible, the brother\n in question being then hundreds of miles off; however, Cagliostro felt\n not disconcerted; said they might send to the country-house where the\n sister was, and see.\n\nTaken all in all this experiment does not seem very satisfactory; but\nwe have in it all the essential phases of crystal-gazing. Excitement\nand expectation produced their usual effect upon an impressionable\nchild, and suggestion did the rest; the final vision may have been\ncorroborated in some way, or, if not, it would be explained so as to\nconvince those present at the experiment that the child had really seen\na representation of some actual happening.\n\nDuring the Terror, among those upon whom fell the suspicions of the\nJacobins was General Marli\u00e8re. He knew that a trial and quite probably\na condemnation awaited him. A few days before the date fixed for his\nappearance before his judges, he met a colonel in the French army,\nwho had served in the American Revolutionary War, and who was a firm\nbeliever in the truth of the visions seen in crystal balls. In the\ncourse of the conversation this subject was alluded to, and the general\nimmediately declared that he was eager to put the matter to the test,\nand learn, if possible, what fate was in store for him. The colonel\nwas at first very unwilling to undertake the experiment, probably he\nthought that General Marli\u00e8re\u2019s doom was sealed, and, believing as\nhe did in the revelations of the crystal, he dreaded the results;\nhowever, the general insisted and the experiment took place. As usual,\nthe medium was an \u201cinnocent child.\u201d In the crystal appeared a man\nwearing a private\u2019s uniform of the National Guard struggling with one\nwearing a general\u2019s uniform. The child was much excited and terrified\nby the sight, exclaiming that the general\u2019s assailant had thrown him\ndown and was beheading him. That the vision portended the general\u2019s\nexecution was clear enough, but the peculiar dress of the executioner\nwas a mystery to those present at the test, for the official garb bore\nno resemblance whatever to a soldier\u2019s uniform. The prediction was,\nhowever, fulfilled to the letter. General Marli\u00e8re was tried, found\nguilty, and guillotined. This in itself did not mean much in view of\nthe innumerable executions in the time of the Terror; but, on the\nday of this execution, Samson, the official executioner, desiring to\ngratify his personal vanity and to attract the gaze of the spectators,\ndressed himself in the uniform of a national guardsman.[299] That\nthis altogether unusual circumstance, which could scarcely have been\nknown to any of those who assisted at the crystal-gazing, should have\nbeen revealed in the crystal, is certainly very mysterious. If we had\npositive assurance that the events narrated happened exactly in the way\nthey are said to have happened, this would be one of the few instances\nin which the vision seen in the crystal reproduced something entirely\nunknown to the scryer.\n\nMany extraordinary visions are said to have been seen in crystal balls\nby a French scryer whose grandmother had clairvoyant powers and was\nsometimes consulted by Napoleon I. It is claimed that the grandson has\nenjoyed the patronage of many royal personages, and had predicted, in a\nmore or less definite way, the assassination of King Humbert of Italy,\nand the attempted assassination of Alfonso XIII and of his young bride,\nwhen they were returning to the palace after the conclusion of the\nmarriage ceremony. This French scryer has stated that he is powerfully\naffected when he is consulted by any one destined to die a violent\ndeath; on such occasions he feels, in his own organism, a modified form\nof the particular kind of suffering they are fated to experience. This\nexceptional sensitiveness to occult influences was also shown when the\ncrystal-gazer went to the Boulaq Museum in Cairo, and gazed upon the\nrows of mummies exhibited there; he immediately felt, as intensely as\nthough it were a personal experience, the mingled sorrow and rage of\nthe disembodied spirits at seeing their embalmed bodies exposed to the\nview of the idle crowd, when they should have been permitted to rest in\ntheir tombs until the hour of the Resurrection.\n\nIn England all those who attempted, with a greater or less degree of\nsuccess, to reveal the hidden secrets of the future, were expressly\ndesignated as rogues and vagabonds according to the terms of an act\npassed June 21, 1824.[300] Such offenders, on being duly convicted\nbefore the Justice of the Peace, could be committed to the House of\nCorrection, \u201cthere to be kept at hard Labour for any time not exceeding\nThree Calendar Months.\u201d This class of undesirable citizens comprised\nall using \u201cany subtle Craft, Means, or Device, by Palmistry or\notherwise\u201d for the deception of his Majesty\u2019s subjects.\n\nThe _h\u2019men_, or diviner, of Yucatan, places great reliance upon his\n_zaztun_, or \u201cclear stone.\u201d This may be a quartz crystal, or else some\nother translucent stone; but in order to serve for divining purposes\nit must be sanctified according to special rites, gum-copal being\nburned before it, and certain magic formulas recited, which have been\ntransmitted from generation to generation in an archaic dialect. When\nthus rendered fit for use, the diviner claims to be able to see in the\ndepths of the crystal the whereabouts of lost articles, and also what\nabsent persons are doing at the time he makes his observation. Not\nonly this, but the future is also laid bare before his eyes. As these\nstones are supposed to possess such miraculous powers we need not be\nsurprised that one of them should be found in almost every village in\nYucatan.[301]\n\nThe Apache medicine-men are also fully persuaded that crystals possess\nthe virtue of inducing visions, and they have used them for the purpose\nof finding lost property. To aid in the recovery of stolen ponies is\none of the most important tasks of the Apache medicine-man, and to\nthis end his crystal offers great assistance. Capt. John G. Burke\nrelates that he made a great friend of a medicine-man named Na-a-che by\ngiving him a large crystal of denticulated spar, much superior to the\ncrystal he had been in the habit of using for his visions. That this\nwas thoroughly satisfactory to the medicine-man at least, is shown by\nhis statement to Capt. Burke that by looking into his crystal he could\nsee everything he wanted to see. Of the way this came about he did not\nattempt any explanation.[302]\n\nThe magic power supposed to dwell within rock-crystal has been\nrecognized in a peculiar way by some natives of New South Wales. They\nhave the barbarous custom of knocking out one or more of the front\nteeth of their boys at the obligatory initiation ceremonies, and on one\noccasion Dr. Howitt was entrusted with the care of a number of these\nteeth, which are believed to preserve a certain undefined connection\nwith the health and fortunes of their former possessors, and on this\naccount great fear was expressed lest the custodian should place the\nprecious teeth in the same bag with some rock-crystals, for the natives\nthought that the magic power of these crystals would injuriously affect\nthe teeth, and through them the boys, from whose jaws they had been\nbroken.[303]\n\nIn a paper entitled \u201cThe Origin of Jewelry,\u201d read before the British\nAssociation, Professor W. Ridgeley says:\n\n Australians and tribes of New Guinea use crystals for rain-making,\n although they cannot bore them, and this stone is a powerful amulet in\n Uganda when fastened into leather. Sorcerers in Africa carry a small\n bag of pebbles as an important part of their equipment. So it was in\n Greece. The crystal was used to light the sacrificial fire and was so\n employed in the church down to the fifteenth century. Egyptians used\n it largely under the XII Dynasty, piercing it along its axis after\n rubbing off the pyramid points of the crystal, sometimes leaving the\n natural six sides, or else grinding it into a complete cylinder. From\n this bead came the artificial cylindrical glass beads made later by\n the Egyptians.\n\nProfessor Ridgeley believes that the primary use of all these objects\nwas because of their supposed magic powers. He holds the same view in\nregard to cylinders and rings, considering that the use of these as\nsignets only became habitual at a later time, and he finds a proof\nof this theory in the fact that unengraved Babylonian cylinders and\nMycenean gems have been discovered. This is, of course, perfectly true,\nbut does not in the least prove that such ornaments may not have been\noriginally worn simply for purposes of adornment; unquestionably, the\ncustom of engraving them so as to render them signets must have arisen\nat a much later date.\n\nFlacourt stated that the natives of Madagascar used crystals to\naid them in divining. These stones, which were said to have fallen\nfrom heaven, were attached to the corners of the boards whereon the\nsorcerers produced their geomantic figures.[304] Here, however, the\ncrystals were not directly used, but were only supposed to attract\ninfluences propitious to the diviner\u2019s efforts.\n\nIn the notes to the 1888 edition of the Chinese criminal code, some\ncurious details are given of a practice called Yuan-kuang-fuchou (the\nmagic of the round glittering). While this designation certainly seems\nto indicate the use of a polished sphere of some description, the\ndetails given refer to a different practice. We are told that when\nanything was stolen appeal was sometimes made to a certain Sun-Yuan\nSheng, who would then hang up a piece of white paper and utter a spell,\nwhile a boy gazed upon the paper until he saw the figure of the thief.\nThis magician was punished for carrying on an unlawful practice.[305]\n\n[Illustration: BABYLONIAN CYLINDERS AND PERSIAN BEADS.\n\nOf hematite, rock-crystal, lapis-lazuli, chalcedony, banded agate, and\nother stones. From 3000 B.C. to the Christian era. (See page 121.)]\n\nThe Mexicans made images of their god Tezcatlipoca of obsidian, and the\nname of this divinity is interpreted as signifying \u201cshining mirror.\u201d\nThis is supposed to refer to, or to have been expressed by, the\nbrilliant effect of the polished surface of the obsidian. Mirrors\nof this material are said to have been used for divination in ancient\nMexico and the neighboring countries.[306] One of these Mexican mirrors\nseems to have been employed by Dr. Dee in his experiments in crystal\nvision.\n\nA remarkable series of tests in the art of scrying, given in the\npresence of Lane, the great Arabic scholar, and translator of the\nArabian Nights, illustrates the fallibility of most of the evidence\nadduced in such matters, for, at first, Lane was strongly impressed by\nthe exhibition. Although no crystal was used, the process of scrying\nwas precisely the same as in crystal-gazing,\u2014that is to say, the\nvision called for by the visitors was seen by the scryer on a polished\nsurface. The master of ceremonies was an Arab magician, though, of\ncourse, he did not do the scrying himself, but employed a boy for this\npurpose, for it is generally thought that half-grown boys or girls\nare more receptive. Although Lane himself was perfectly familiar with\nArabic, an interpreter was always present in the interest of the other\nEuropeans who assisted at the experiments.\n\nAfter invoking many mysterious geniuses and burning incense and scraps\nof paper inscribed with magic formulas, the magician drew a magic\nsquare on a large sheet of paper and dropped a quantity of ink in the\ncentre. On this the boy was directed to fix his gaze, and after he\nhad shown that he was thoroughly under the magician\u2019s influence, by\ndescribing the images suggested to him, the visitors were permitted\nto ask him questions. The answers were successful in most cases; a\nsingle instance will suffice. When the boy was asked to describe\nAdmiral Nelson, he replied: \u201cI see a man clothed in a dark garb; there\nis something strange about him, he has but one arm.\u201d Then, quickly\ncorrecting himself, he added: \u201cNo, I was mistaken, he has one of his\narms across his breast.\u201d This correction impressed those present more\nthan the first statement, for it was well known that Nelson usually\nhad the empty sleeve of his coat pinned to his breast. It also seemed\nas though there could be no collusion, for both the magician and the\nboy were ignorant of everything English and evidently knew nothing of\nNelson. Unfortunately, however, for those who would fain believe that\nthere is something supernatural in scrying, it was later discovered\nthat the interpreter was a renegade Scotchman, masquerading as an Arab,\nand there can be little doubt that he managed to suggest the boy\u2019s\nanswer. The fact that no satisfactory results were obtained when this\ninterpreter was absent, makes this explanation almost certainly the\ncorrect one.\n\nThe Armenians sometimes practised divination by watching the images\nthat appeared, or were supposed to appear, on the smooth surface of\nthe waters of a well, and the person who saw such images was called\n_hornaiogh_, \u201che who looks into a well.\u201d An Arab woman living in the\nneighborhood of Constantinople enjoyed a great reputation for her power\nin this respect, and was frequently consulted by Armenians and by other\ndwellers in the Turkish capital. Whoever wished to question this woman\nregarding the cause of an illness, the whereabouts of stolen objects,\netc., usually took along a child of the household, and the actual\nscrying was generally performed by this child, who would describe or\nidentify the forms it saw on the water\u2019s surface. If, however, for\none reason or another, no child was brought, the witch herself did\nthe scrying. In regard to illness, a distinction was made between\n\u201cnatural\u201d maladies and those directly caused by some spirit. Should the\nspirit (_peri_) supposed to cause the dire malady known as _drs\u00e9v\u00e9_, a\nkind of consumption, be seen to glide over the surface of the water,\nthe sorceress would find it necessary to invoke the whole race of\n_peris_ to come to the aid of the patient, who was expected to pay more\nthan the usual fee for this very special service.[307]\n\nThe _peris_ of Armenian legend were sometimes good and sometimes\nevil spirits; in the former case these were supposed to perform the\nfunctions of guardian angels, and every one was said to have a peri\nespecially delegated to watch over him. This found expression in the\nfact that when one Armenian felt at first sight an instinctive sympathy\nfor another, he would say, \u201cMy peri loves you dearly (_peris chad\nsiretz kezi_).\u201d In the contrary case, the feeling of antipathy was\nalso attributed to the attitude assumed by the guardian spirit toward\nthe new acquaintance.[308] These spirits were therefore supposed to\nencourage or discourage greater intimacy with newcomers in accord with\nthe true interests of those over whom they watched.\n\nThe power to see images in a crystal does not appear to depend to any\ngreat extent upon a morbid nervous condition of the seer, for many\nof the most successful experimenters have been of good and even of\nexceptionally vigorous physique. Indeed, illness seems to diminish or\ndestroy this power, at least in the case of those who are habitually\nhealthy.[309] This does not imply that some highly nervous and even\nhysterical individuals have not been favored with \u201ccrystal visions.\u201d\nVery probably the rule here is the same as in ordinary hypnotism. Those\npersons who have a strong will and sound nerves are able to hypnotize\nthemselves, while those whose nerves are disordered are subject to the\nhypnotic influence of others.\n\nA well-known lady in New York City, in conversation with the writer, a\nfew years ago, on the subject of crystal balls, was advised by him to\ntry a ball herself and see what results she obtained. At the end of two\nyears she found that by concentration she had been able to better her\nunderstanding of herself; and this effect is not only obtainable now by\nmeans of a crystal ball, but by fixing her gaze upon any bright object.\nThis visual fixation has centred her whole being in such a way that her\nhealth has notably improved.\n\nWhat are the laws that govern the production of these phenomena? That\nthe \u201cvisions\u201d are real enough has been proven time and again, but it\nseems almost certain that they do not offer anything but the ideas or\nimpressions existing in the minds or optic nerves of the gazers. One\nof the most painstaking students of the subject, Miss Goodrich-Freer,\ngives many instances in proof of this, which show how easy it would\nbe for a less critical observer to suppose that the crystal revealed\nsomething unknown to the gazer. On one occasion this lady was at a loss\nto remember the correct address of a friend whose letter, received a\nfew days before, she had torn up. She resorted to her crystal, and\nafter a few minutes saw in it, in gray letters on a white ground, the\naddress she had forgotten. She mailed her answer to this address, and\nthe reply came duly to hand, with the address stamped in gray upon\nthe white paper of the note, which was identical with that she had\nfirst received.[310] The visual impression had been stirred up and\n\u201cexternalized\u201d itself when she gazed upon the crystal. We believe that\nthis explains the larger number of such visions, and that the rest are\nonly inexplicable because the scryer has forgotten the source of the\nimpression that is projected on the surface of the crystal.\n\n[Illustration: ROCK-CRYSTAL SPHERES. JAPANESE. (See page 217.)]\n\nIt is true that both Miss Goodrich-Freer and many other crystal-gazers\nnote instances in which the vision appears to represent something\nthe scryer does not and cannot know. However, even in these cases,\nwhen carefully examined, there is little difficulty in finding an\nexplanation. Coincidence accounts for much, and imagination for more,\nsince it is not the vision itself, but the memory of the vision, that\nis later brought into comparison with actual facts. We all know how\nexceedingly hard it is to repeat, after a short lapse of time, all the\ncircumstances and details of any occurrence. There is a natural growth\nand modification of mental impressions, due to association of ideas,\nand where there exists the least wish to make the prophecy accord with\nthe event, or the vision with the coincident happening, this growth and\nmodification will be in the direction of agreement. This takes place\nquite unconsciously, and the informant will be fully persuaded that all\nthe circumstances are related exactly as they occurred.\n\nThe attempt to identify either persons or scenes observed by the scryer\nwith real persons and real scenes unknown to him, must always be open\nto the objection that the one who makes the identification has no\nphotographic impression upon which to base his judgment, but merely the\nwords of the scryer. When we remember what mistakes have been made in\nidentifying individuals from photographs, we can easily appreciate the\ngreat chances of error entailed by the use of a verbal description of\na visionary experience, even when the person giving the description is\nboth willing and able to make it as exact and adequate as possible.\n\nA very impartial witness, Andrew Lang, states that, in the course of\na series of experiments he made in crystal-gazing, he saw nothing\nhimself, but found that a surprisingly large proportion of those who\ntried were successful in seeing pictures of some sort on the polished\nsurface. Almost invariably, when the gazer fixed his eyes upon the\nsphere, it appeared to grow milky-hued and then became black; upon this\ndark background the pictures showed themselves. One of the scryers,\na lady, said that as a child she had seen pictures in ink that she\nhad spilled for the purpose.[311] This method has been much favored\nby Orientals. While Lang does not quite venture to assert that all\nthe \u201cvisions\u201d reported to him were genuine ones, he inclines to the\nbelief that this was the case with many of them. Experience has shown,\nhowever, that not all of those who see pictures in, or on, a glass or\ncrystal sphere, can also see them in ink.[312] Nevertheless, in view\nof the fact that the crystal sphere is said to appear black to the eye\nbefore the pictures are seen, it would seem that some naturally black\nsurface would be particularly adapted for the purpose.\n\nAn interesting point regarding the phenomena of crystal-gazing is the\neffect produced by magnification upon the images seen in, or on, the\ncrystal ball. As to this matter there is considerable difference of\nopinion, for, while some experimenters assert that the interposition\nof a magnifying-glass enlarges the image, others have not remarked\nany difference in its size under these conditions. Indeed, one of the\nmost critical witnesses, Mrs. A. W. Verrall, declares that her vision\nentirely disappeared when she held a magnifying-glass before her eyes.\nOn the other hand, we have the case of a subject who had been told,\nwhile in the hypnotic state, that he would see a play-bill on the\ncrystal. When he was awakened and the crystal ball was placed before\nhim, he said that he could see only detached letters, but when he\nlooked through a magnifying-glass he saw all the letters distinctly and\nread the name of the play, in perfect accord with the suggestion.[313]\n\nThis image may have been reflected from some part of the room where the\ngazer had not noticed it, and may have been either before or behind\nthe operator. The magnifying-glass would naturally make the small,\ncondensed letters legible, as a play-bill would be many times larger\nthan a crystal ball, and its minute image naturally too small to read,\nbeing reduced by the circular surface.\n\nUsually, however, the image is not on the surface of the crystal, but\nin the beholder\u2019s eye; therefore when this image appears more clearly\nunder magnification, the result is due to the expectation of the\ngazer based upon his experience of an invariable rule. This acts as\na stimulus upon the visual function, which must be in an exceedingly\nsensitive state to produce visions at all. When, however, no result\nor a negative result follows the use of the glass, then we can safely\nassume that the gazer was naturally of a critical turn of mind, and\nwas disposed to distrust sensual impressions; hence the glass became a\ndisturbing influence, interfering with or even completely obliterating\nthe eye-picture.\n\nMany attempts have been made to establish distinctions between the\ndifferent materials used for crystals, proceeding on the theory that\nsubtle emanations from them affected the gazer and played an important\npart in producing the desired vision. That the beryl produced a greater\nnumber of these visions than any other mineral was the old belief which\nis still upheld in some quarters to-day; one scryer, indeed, asserts\nthat his clearest and most satisfactory visions were seen in a cube\nof blue beryl, the beautiful color appearing to dispose the soul to a\nharmonious unfolding of its latent aptitudes.[314]\n\nAmong the instructions given to a would-be crystal gazer, the question\nof a proper and wholesome diet is not overlooked, as anything which\ntends to disturb the serenity of the organism will also interfere with\nthe due exercise of the special clairvoyant faculty that expresses\nitself in crystal visions. A curious special recommendation made\nby one of the exponents of the art is that good results can be had\nby drinking an infusion of mugwort (_Artemisia vulgaris_), or of\nchicory (_Cichorium intybus_), because of their tonic and antibilious\nqualities. Moreover, we are told that these herbs are under the\ninfluence of the zodiacal sign Libra, the sign controlling the virtues\nof the beryl.[315] Above all the portion of the lunar month when the\nmoon is on the increase is said to be far the best season for scrying,\nas the old astrologers recognized an affinity between the moon and\nrock-crystal.\n\nThe claim is made that the adept at crystal-gazing can determine by the\napparent difference in proximity of the visions whether they refer to\nthe present or to a more or less remote past or future, that is to say,\nare nearer or farther removed in time from the period when the vision\nappears. The distinction between past and future is admitted to offer\ngreater difficulty and a decision as to this point must depend upon a\nkind of intuitive and undefined impression on the part of the scryer.\n\nThose who have made a sympathetic study of crystal-gazing recognize\nthat the \u201cvisions\u201d seen in or on the crystal differ according to the\nmental and psychic temperament of the scryer. Two broad distinctions\nare sometimes established, the one class comprising those whose mental\nattitude is a \u201cpositive\u201d one while the second class includes the\n\u201cpassive\u201d subjects. In the former case the crystal visions are more apt\nto be symbols denoting some past or future event than a clear picture\nof the event itself, the mentality of the \u201cpositive\u201d subject being,\nperhaps, too strong merely to mirror the image cast upon it. Instead\nof so doing it transforms the impression received from this image into\nsome symbolic form. This process is not, however, consciously done, but\nthe scryer of this type is supposed nevertheless to have an instinctive\nappreciation of the fact that what he sees is purely and simply a\nsymbol, and he proceeds to interpret this in accord with certain\ngenerally received rules, or in accord with his own personal experience.\n\nThe passive subject on the other hand is more apt to see a clear and\ndefinite picture of the persons or events revealed to him. Sometimes\nthat picture is distinctly perceptible on or about the surface of the\ncrystal, while at other times the visual perception will be rather\nindefinite and clouded, although accompanied by a strong mental\nimpression in itself equivalent to that which would have been induced\nby an actual and objective vision.[316]\n\nThe proper use of the crystal is the prime factor in the art of\nscrying and great attention is paid to this point by all those who\ntreat seriously of the subject. Among other things they recognize\nthat freedom from pain, or even from a sense of physical discomfort,\nis quite essential, for the mind must assume a purely passive and\nreceptive attitude, and not be forced to take cognizance of bodily\ndiscomfort. Moreover the nervous system must be in repose, for which\nreason a reasonable time should be allowed to lapse after taking a\nmeal, before trying for crystal visions.[317]\n\nAn author on \u201cpsychomancy\u201d affirms that fixing the gaze upon a crystal\nball is one of the very best means of bringing out the latent faculty\nof astral vision, and he finds a reason for this in the atomic\nstructure, the molecular arrangement of the material. He does not,\nhowever, impart any definite information as to what special structural\ncharacteristics render glass or rock-crystal particularly efficient in\nthis direction.[318] The help that may be derived from crystal-gazing\nby those who are striving to pierce the veil that separates the \u201creal\nlife\u201d about us from that spiritual life which is so much more real for\nthose who believe in it, is also admitted by many.[319]\n\nWe cannot refrain from citing here the words spoken by Sir Oliver\nLodge at Birmingham, Sept. 10, 1913, before the British Association\nfor the Advancement of Science, affirming his conviction, as a result\nof scientific investigation of occult phenomena, \u201cthat memory and\naffection are not limited to that association with matter by which\nalone they can manifest themselves here and now, and that personality\npersists beyond bodily death.\u201d\n\nOne of the latest types of glass balls for crystal-gazing has a small,\ncircular, flat surface on the sphere. This may possibly be of service\nin furnishing a better field for the expected vision, and may also\nlessen the troublesome and baffling reflections which interfere so\nseriously with the projection of the mental picture.\n\nA method that has been recommended to crystal-gazers is to place the\ncrystal on a table, protect it from the reflections of surrounding\nobjects by means of a velvet screen, and set seven candlesticks with\nwax tapers in front of the screen. The tapers are then to be lighted,\nthe room being otherwise in perfect darkness, and the would-be scryer\nis to seat himself comfortably before the table, laying his hands flat\nupon it, and to gaze fixedly upon the crystal for half an hour or\nlonger. The light from the tapers will certainly ensure a multitude\nof light points in the crystal. That the molecules forming the sphere\nmay always remain _en rapport_ with the gazer, he is advised to put it\nbeneath his pillow when retiring to rest.[320]\n\nThe crystal gazer is strongly advised by some to limit the duration\nof his experiment at first to five minutes, during which he is to\navoid thinking of anything in particular while keeping his eyes fixed\nintently upon the ball, but without any undue straining of attention.\nShould the eyes \u201cwater\u201d after the test is concluded, this is to be\nregarded as an indication that the gazer has persisted too long;\nfor brain-fag is to be strictly avoided, as such a state depresses\ninstead of arousing the hidden and higher psychic faculties. Even\nafter considerable practice, the scrying should not be carried on for\nmore than a few minutes at a time. The faculty of visualization plays\na most important part in crystal-gazing. The image thought to be seen\non, before, or behind the surface of the crystal, is in its essence a\nfancied projection of a purely mental image conceived in the brain;\nsuch an image as is present to the consciousness of many when they call\nto mind a scene of some vivid past experience, or the face of someone\nthey have known, and see it as an element of consciousness. When it is\npossible to externalize this interior vision, then we have at least a\nbeginning of successful scrying. That it may go far beyond this, that\nit may reveal to the gazer events happening in some distant place, or\neven events yet to transpire in the dim future, is often claimed. An\nacceptance of this claim must depend largely upon our attitude toward\npremonitions and prophecies in general. Here, as in the simple picture\nevolved by an image of the past, the crystal is merely the background\nupon which are cast the mind-pictures or soul-pictures arising within\nour being.[321]\n\nA use of crystal gazing to aid literary composition has been reported\nin the case of an English authoress of note, who, if she lost the\nthread of the story she was writing, would resort to her crystal, and\nwould see mirrored therein the scenes and personages of her tale,\nthe latter carrying on the plot in dramatic action. Aided by this\nsuggestion she was able to resume her composition and successfully\nterminate her story.\n\n[Illustration: CRYSTAL BALL, SUPPORTED BY BRONZE DRAGON. JAPANESE.]\n\nIn Japan the smaller rock-crystals were believed to be the congealed\nbreath of the White Dragon, while the larger and more brilliant ones\nwere said to be the saliva of the Violet Dragon. As the dragon was\nemblematic of the highest powers of creation, this indicates the esteem\nin which the substance was held by the Japanese, who probably derived\ntheir appreciation of it from the Chinese. The name _suisho_, used both\nin China and Japan to designate rock-crystal, reflects the idea current\nin ancient times, and repeated even by seventeenth century writers,\nthat rock-crystal was ice which had been so long congealed that it\ncould not be liquefied.\n\nFor the Japanese, rock-crystal is the \u201cperfect jewel,\u201d _tama_; it is\nat once a symbol of purity and of the infinity of space, and also\nof patience and perseverance. This latter significance probably\noriginating from an observation of the patience and skill shown by the\naccurate and painstaking Japanese cutters and polishers of rock-crystal.\n\nA crystal ball, one of the largest perfect spheres ever produced, has\nbeen made from rock-crystal of Madagascar. It is a very perfect sphere\nand of faultless material. The diameter is 6\u215b inches and the ball\nwas held at about $20,000.\n\nMany fine crystal balls are made in Japan, the materials being found\nin large, clear masses in the mountains on the islands of Nippon and\nFusiyama and also in the granitic rocks of Central Japan. It is stated,\nhowever, that much of the Japanese material really comes from China.\nThe Japanese methods of working rock-crystals are extremely simple and\ndepend more upon the skill and patience of the workers than upon the\ntools at their command. Our illustration, taken from a sketch made by\nan Oriental traveller, shows the process of manufacturing crystal\nballs. The rough mass of crystal is gradually rounded by careful\nchipping with a small steel hammer. With the aid of this tool alone a\nperfect sphere is formed. The Japanese workmen thoroughly understand\nthe fracture of the mineral, and know just when to apply chipping and\nwhen hammering. The crystal, having been reduced to a spherical form,\nis handed to a grinder, whose tools consist of cylindrical pieces of\ncast iron, about a foot in length, and full of perforations. These\ncylinders are of different curvatures, according to the size of the\ncrystal to be ground. Powdered emery and garnet are used for the first\npolishing. Plenty of water is supplied during the process, and the\nballs are kept constantly turning, in order to secure a true spherical\nsurface. Sometimes they are fixed on the end of a hollow tube and kept\ndexterously turning in the hand until smooth. The final polishing\nis effected with crocus or rouge (finely divided hematite), giving\na splendid lustrous surface. As hand labor is exclusively used, the\nmanufacture of crystal objects according to the Japanese methods is\nextremely laborious and slow.[322]\n\n[Illustration: By permission of the \u201cScientific American.\u201d\n\nMETHOD OF GRINDING CRYSTAL BALLS AND OTHER HARD STONE OBJECTS IN\nGERMANY AND FRANCE.]\n\n[Illustration: By permission of the \u201cScientific American.\u201d\n\nJAPANESE METHOD OF CHIPPING, GRINDING AND POLISHING ROCK-CRYSTAL BALLS.]\n\nIn Germany and France and in the United States, the fabrication of\nrock-crystal is accomplished almost entirely by machinery. The crystal\nto be shaped into a ball is placed against a semicircular groove worn\nin huge grindstones. This is illustrated in the case of the method\npractised in Oberstein, Germany. The workman has his feet firmly braced\nagainst a support, and, resting upon his chest, presses the crystal\nagainst the revolving grindstone. It is unnecessary to add that the\npractice is extremely unwholesome and develops early consumption\namong the workers. A constant stream of water is kept flowing over the\nstone so that the crystal shall always be moist, as the friction would\notherwise hurt it, and the subsequent addition of water would be liable\nto cause a fracture. The final polishing is done on a wooden wheel with\ntripoli, or by means of a leather buffer with tripoli or rouge.[323]\n\nThere are three fine crystal balls in the collection of the American\nMuseum of Natural History. One, apparently perfect, measures 5\u00bd\ninches in diameter and was cut from a crystal found in Mokolumne,\nCalaveras Co., California; the second is 6\u00bd inches in diameter and\nis from the same locality, but not entirely perfect. These were shown\nin the department of the Tiffany Collection prepared by the author,\nand were exhibited at the Paris Exposition of 1900 as part of the J.\nPierpont Morgan gift to the American Museum of Natural History. Another\nfine crystal ball is now to be seen in the American Museum of Natural\nHistory, New York; this was donated to the institution. It measures\n4-11/16 inches in diameter, is of wonderful purity, and the cutting\nhas been executed with such a high degree of precision that an ideally\nperfect sphere has been produced.[324]\n\nCrystal balls have been found occasionally in tombs or in funerary\nurns, and their presence in sepulchres may perhaps be considered to\nhave been due to a belief that they possessed certain magic properties.\nIn the tomb of Childeric (ca. 436-481 A.D.), the father of Clovis,\na rock-crystal sphere was found which was for a time preserved in\nthe Biblioth\u00e8que Royale, Paris, and later in the Louvre Museum; it\nmeasures 1\u00bd inches in diameter.[325] The chance discovery of a\nnumber of crystal balls is related by Montfaucon. Towards the end of\nthe sixteenth century, the canons of San Giovanni in Laterano, Rome,\nwished to have some repairs made to a house they owned, just outside\nof the city walls, and sent thither some workmen with the order to\nbreak up or remove two large, superimposed stones, which were much in\nthe way. The workmen proceeded to break the upper stone, but were much\nastonished to find embedded within it an alabaster funerary urn with\nits cover. This had been hidden between the two stones, a space for its\nreception having been hollowed out in the upper and lower stones, so\nthat it fitted within them. Opening the urn there were found inside,\nmingled with the ashes, twenty crystal balls, a gold ring with a stone\nsetting, a needle, an ivory comb, and some bits of gold wire. The\npresence of the needle was taken to indicate conclusively that the\nashes were those of a woman.[326]\n\nThe discovery of the tomb of Childeric was made, May 27, 1653, by a\ndeaf-mute mason, named Adrien Quinquin, while he was excavating for the\nrestoration of one of the dependencies of the church of Saint Brice de\nTournai. One of the most interesting objects found in the tomb was the\ngolden signet of Childeric bearing his head and the legend _Childerici\nregis_. The earliest description is given in a work by Chiflet entitled\n\u201cAnastasis Childerici,\u201d \u201cResurrection of Childeric,\u201d published by\nPlantin of Antwerp in 1655. The various ornaments were sent by the\nSpanish Governor-General of the Netherlands to the Austrian treasury in\nVienna, and were not long afterward, in 1664, graciously donated by\nEmperor Leopold I to King Louis XIV, at the instance of Johann Philip\nof Schonborn, Archbishop of Mainz, who was under great obligation to\nthe French sovereign.\n\n[Illustration: ROCK-CRYSTAL SPHERE.\n\nJapan, five inches diameter. Morgan collection, American Museum of\nNatural History, New York.]\n\nIn Paris the various ornaments were preserved in the Biblioth\u00e8que\nRoyale until the night of November 5-6, 1831, when many of them, with\nother valuables, were stolen by an ex-convict. Closely pursued by the\npolice, the thief threw his booty into the Seine; much of the plunder\nwas subsequently recovered, but the signet of Childeric was lost for\never. The crystal ball had not seemed of sufficient value to tempt the\nthief and was left undisturbed; it was later, in 1852, deposited in the\nLouvre Museum.[327]\n\nIn a personal communication to Abb\u00e9 Cochet made in 1858 by Mr. Thomas\nWright, the latter stated that he had seen at Downing in Flintshire\nwith Lord Fielding five crystal balls, bearing labels declaring that\nthey came from the sepulchres of the kings of France violated at the\ntime of the French Revolution. They had been purchased about 1810 at\nthe sale of the Duchess of Portland\u2019s effects.[328]\n\nAmong the crystal balls found in French sepulchres may be noted one\ndiscovered by Rigollot in 1853 at Arras, and preserved in the Museum\nof that city; this still has the original gold mounting serving to\nattach it to the necklace from which it had been worn suspended.\nAnother found at or near Levas was in the possession of M. Dancoise, a\nnotary of H\u00e9nin-Li\u00e9tard, dept. Pas de Calais.[329] In the Biblioth\u00e8que\nat Dieppe there is a crystal ball, 32 mm. in diameter, found at\nDouvrend, dept. Seine-Inferieure, in 1838, in a Merovingian tomb; this\nis pierced through.[330] The department of Moselle supplied three\ndiscoveries of this kind, crystal balls having been found in a tomb at\nSt. Preux-la-Montagne, Sablon and Moineville near Briey, the latter\nmeasuring 36 mm. in diameter.[331]\n\nThe Saxon tombs of England have also furnished a contingent of crystal\nballs, for example at Chatham, at Chassel Down on the Isle of Wight,\nwhere four were discovered, at Breach Down, Barham, near Canterbury, at\nFairford, Gloucestershire, and also in Kent.[332]\n\nWe should also note a crystal ball found in a funerary urn at Hinsbury\nHill, Northamptonshire;[333] this as well as the one found at Fairford\nwas facetted.[334] From St. Nicholas, Worcestershire, is reported a\ncrystal ball 1\u00bd inches in diameter.[335]\n\nIn his \u201cHydrotaphia, or Urn Burial,\u201d published in 1658, Sir Thomas\nBrowne (1605-1682), author of the \u201cReligio Medici,\u201d relates that there\nwas at that time in the possession of Cardinal Farnese, an urn in\nwhich, besides a number of antique engraved gems, an ape of agate,\nand an elephant of amber, there had been found a crystal ball and six\n\u201cnuts\u201d of crystal.[336]\n\nOne of the largest and most perfect crystal balls is in the Dresden\n\u201cGr\u00fcne Gew\u00f6lbe\u201d (Green Vaults). This weighs 15 German pounds and\nmeasures 6\u2154 inches in diameter; it was undoubtedly used for purposes\nof augury. Ten thousand dollars was the price paid for it in 1780.\n\nA crystal ball known as the Currahmore Crystal, because it is kept\nat the seat of that name belonging to the Marquis of Waterford, has\nlong enjoyed and still enjoys the repute of possessing magical powers.\nIt is of rock-crystal, and the legend runs that one of the Le Poers\nbrought it from the Holy Land, where it had been given him by the\ngreat crusader Godefroy de Bouillon (1058-1100). The ball is a trifle\nlarger than an orange and a silver ring encircles it at the middle.\nThe chief and much-prized virtue of this crystal is its power to cure\ncattle of any one of the many distempers to which they are subject. Its\napplication for this purpose is rather peculiar, for the cattle are not\ntouched with it, but driven up and down a stream in which it has been\nlaid. Not only in the immediate neighborhood of Currahmore is resort\nhad to this magic stone by the peasants, but requests for its loan are\noften made from far distant parts of Ireland. The privilege is almost\nalways accorded and has never been abused, the crystal being in every\ncase conscientiously returned to its rightful owner.[337]\n\nThe names \u201cghost-crystals,\u201d \u201cphantom-crystals,\u201d \u201cspectre-crystals,\u201d\n\u201cshadow-crystals,\u201d etc., are applied to a form of quartz in which the\ncrystallization was interrupted from time to time, so that in the\ntransparent successive layers there is an occasional opaque layer,\noften no thicker than the finest possible dusting of a whiter material.\nSometimes as many as fifteen or twenty of these successive growths are\nobservable, one over the other. When these crystals are in the natural\nform, they show beautifully from the sides and ends. Sometimes such\ncrystals are found after they have been rolled in the beds of mountain\ntorrents until they have become entirely opaque, but when the surfaces\nare polished, the \u201cphantom,\u201d \u201cspectre,\u201d or \u201cghost,\u201d appears with\nwonderful beauty. Occasionally the entire crystal has been worn down\nto a small part of the original prism, in which case it is cut into a\nball. The ball may seem to be absolutely pure, but when held in certain\nlights little tent-like markings can often be observed; sometimes only\none marking is visible, but there may be as many as twenty. These\nare occasionally due to a layer of smoky material, and, though they\nadd a charm to the ball, they detract from its value. Nevertheless,\ncrystal-gazers may find an additional interest when the \u201cghostly\u201d or\n\u201cspectral\u201d interior exists in a crystal ball. This growth is similar\nin kind to that seen at times in opaque quartz, forming what is known\nas cap-quartz; here the crystallizations can frequently be broken\napart so that they fit one over the other in many successive layers.\nOccasionally the regular crystalline development will be interrupted,\nas it were, and in place of the original crystal continuing its growth\nharmoniously, a larger crystal will form on a smaller one, forming a\nsort of mushroom, or \u201ccap,\u201d or \u201cstilt\u201d quartz, as it is termed.\n\n[Illustration: \u201cPHANTOM CRYSTAL\u201d OF QUARTZ (ROCK-CRYSTAL) MADAGASCAR.\n\nIn possession of the author.]\n\n[Illustration: 1. Rock-crystal, engraved with a map of the world.\nRussian work.\n\n2, 3. Rock-crystal balls (one elipsoidal) mounted in silver. Probably\ntwelfth or thirteenth century. Used for ornaments and possibly for\nscrying purposes. Collection of Sir Charles Hercules Read.]\n\n\n\n\nVII\n\nReligious Uses of Precious Stones, Pagan, Hebrew, and Christian.\n\n\nThe use of stones for the decoration of images of the gods, and in\nreligious ceremonies, more especially in those connected with the\nburial of the dead, can be traced back to a remote antiquity. Indeed,\nwe may regard this religious use of precious or peculiar stones as the\nnatural development of the original idea of their talismanic virtue.\nIf a certain supernatural essence manifested itself in the stone, what\nmore fit object could be imagined for the decoration of statues of the\ngods, or to bear engraved texts from the sacred writings, and to be\nplaced with the bodies of the dead as \u201cpassports\u201d to ensure the safe\nentry of the souls of the departed into the better land?\n\nWhile this employment of mineral substances for religious purposes\nis practically universal, the earliest recorded instances come from\nEgypt, and concern the Egyptian custom of engraving texts from a very\nancient ritual composition, called the Book of the Dead, upon certain\nsemi-precious stones which had been cut into various symbolical\nforms. This \u201cBook of the Dead,\u201d composed of a number of distinct\nchapters, each complete in itself, describes the passage of the soul\nof the deceased through the realm of the dead (Amenti). Here the soul\naddresses the gods and other beings who receive it, and the prayers\nand invocations recited in the chapters are supposed to procure a safe\npassage and protection from all evil influences or impediments.\n\nOne of the most usual of the engraved amulets is the buckle or tie\n(thet). This was generally of red jasper, carnelian, or red porphyry,\nor else of red glass or faience or of sycamore wood. The wood was\nsymbolical of the blood of Isis, and the amulets were sometimes\nengraved with the 156th chapter of the Book of the Dead; they were\nplaced on the mummy\u2019s neck. The formula engraved reads:\n\n Chapter of the buckle of carnelian which is put on the neck of the\n deceased.\n\n The blood of Isis, the virtue of Isis; the magic power of Isis, the\n magic power of the Eye are protecting this the Great one; they prevent\n any wrong being done to him.\n\n This chapter is said on a buckle of carnelian dipped into the juice of\n ankhama, inlaid into the substance of the sycamore-wood and put on the\n neck of the deceased.\n\n Whoever has this chapter read to him, the virtue of Isis protects him;\n Horus, the son of Isis, rejoices in seeing him, and no way is barred\n to him, unfailingly.[338]\n\nAnother amulet is the _tet_. The hieroglyph represents a mason\u2019s\ntable and the word signifies \u201cfirmness, stability, preservation.\u201d\nThese figures, made of faience, gold, carnelian, lapis-lazuli, and\nother materials, were placed on the neck of the mummy to afford\nprotection.[339]\n\nThe \u201cpapyrus scepter,\u201d _uat_, is usually cut from matrix-emerald or\nmade of faience of similar hue. _Uat_ means \u201cverdure, flourishing,\ngreenness\u201d; placed on the neck of the mummy it was regarded as\nemblematic of the eternal youth it was hoped the deceased would enjoy\nin the realm of the dead. In the 159th chapter of the Book of the Dead,\nwe read of an _uat_ of matrix-emerald; it was believed to be the gift\nof Thoth, serving to protect the limbs of the deceased.[340]\n\nThe amulet representing the pillow, _urs_, was generally made of\nhematite. The 166th chapter of the Book of the Dead is sometimes\nengraved thereon. Dr. Budge renders this as follows:\n\n Rise up from non-existence, O prostrate one! They watch over thy\n head at the exalted horizon. Thou overthrowest thine enemies; thou\n triumphest over what they do against thee, as Horus, the avenger of\n his father, this Osiris[341] has commanded to be done for thee. Thou\n cuttest off the heads of thine enemies; never shall they carry off\n from thee thy head (?). Verily Osiris maketh slaughter at the coming\n forth of the heads of his enemies; may they never remove his head from\n him.\n\nOf all these amulets, the type most frequently encountered has the\nshape of a heart, _ab_. These are found of carnelian, green jasper,\nbasalt, lapis-lazuli, and other hard materials. The heart, regarded\nin ancient Egypt as the seat of life, was the object of especial care\nafter death. Enclosed in a special receptacle it was buried with the\nmummy, and the belief was that only after it had been weighed in the\nbalance of the underworld, against the symbol of law, could it regain\nits place in the body of the deceased. The heart was symbolically\nrepresented by the scarab.[342]\n\nA fine example of a heart amulet shows on one side the figure of\nthe goddess Neith with the pennu bird or ph\u0153nix, an emblem of the\nresurrection, and bears inscribed the chapter of the heart.[343]\n\nThe following extract from the Book of the Dead treats of the formula\nto be recited over a funeral scarab cut from a hard stone, perhaps the\nlapis-lazuli. Egyptian tradition assigned this chapter to the reign of\nSemti, the fifth king of the 1st Dynasty, about 4400 B.C.[344]\n\n Chapter of not allowing a man\u2019s heart to oppose him in the divine\n regions of the nether world.\n\n My heart which came from my mother, my heart necessary for my\n existence on earth, do not rise up against me, do not testify as an\n adversary against me among the divine chiefs in regard to what I have\n done before the gods; do not separate from me before the great lord of\n Amenti. Hail to thee, O heart of Osiris, dwelling in the West! Hail\n to you, gods of the braided beard, august by your sceptre! Speak well\n of the Osiris N; make him prosper by Nehbka. I am reunited with the\n earth, I am not dead in Amenti. There I am a pure spirit for eternity.\n\n To be said over a scarab\u00e6us fashioned from a hard stone, coated with\n gold, and placed on the heart of the man after he has been anointed\n with oil. The following words should be said over him as a magic\n charm: \u201cMy heart which came from my mother, my heart is necessary for\n me in my transformations.\u201d\n\n Take your aliments, pass around the turquoise basin, and go to him who\n is in his temple and from whom the gods proceed.\n\nThe most ancient inscription of this especially favorite text is on\nthe plinth of a scarab in the British Museum bearing the cartouche of\nSebak-em-saf, a king of the XIV Dynasty, 2300 B.C. It is made from an\nexceptionally fine piece of green jasper, the body and head of the\nbeetle being carefully carved out of the stone, while the legs are of\ngold, carved in relief. The scarab is inserted into a gold base of\ntabloid form, and was found at Kurna (Thebes) by Mr. Salt. As green\njasper was believed to possess altogether exceptional virtues as an\namulet, this particular scarab was probably regarded as especially\nsacred.\n\n[Illustration: AMBER HEART-SHAPED AMULET.\n\nItalian, seventeenth century.]\n\n[Illustration: AN INSCRIBED SCARAB (GREEN STONE) OF THE TYPE KNOWN AS A\nHEART-SCARAB. DATE ABOUT 1300 B.C.\n\nThe Scribe Pa-bak: Let him say: \u201cO Heart that I received from my mother\n(to be said twice), O Heart that belongs to my spirit, rise not against\nme as witness, oppose me not before the judges, contradict me not in\nthe presence of the Guardian of the Scales. Thou art the spirit that is\nin my body, Khnum that makest sound my limbs. When thou comest to the\nplace of judgment whither we go, cause not my name to be rejected by\nthe assessors, but let the pronouncement of judgment be favorable, and\nsuch as causes joy to the heart.\u201d]\n\nIt appears to have been the rule to engrave certain special chapters\nof the Book of the Dead, among those referring to the heart, upon\nparticular stones. Thus, for instance, the 26th chapter was engraved on\nlapis-lazuli, the 27th upon feldspar, the 30th upon serpentine, and the\n29th upon carnelian.[345] This may perhaps have been originally due to\nsome association of the god principally invoked in the text with the\nprecious substance upon which the text was engraved.\n\nThe form of an eye, fashioned out of lapis-lazuli and ornamented with\ngold, constituted an amulet of great power; it was inscribed with the\n140th chapter of the Book of the Dead. On the last day of the month\nMechir, an offering \u201cof all things good and holy\u201d was to be made before\nthis symbolic eye, for on that day the supreme god Ra was believed to\nplace such an image upon his head. Sometimes these eyes were made of\njasper, and could then be laid upon any of the limbs of a mummy.[346]\n\nOf the image of Truth, made from a lapis-lazuli and worn by the\nEgyptian high-priest, \u00c6lian aptly says that he would prefer the judge\nshould not bear Truth about with him, fashioned and expressed in an\nimage, but rather in his very soul.[347]\n\nAmong the Assyrian texts giving the formul\u00e6 for incantations and\nvarious magical operations, there is one which treats of an ornament\ncomposed of seven brilliant stones, to be worn on the breast of the\nking as an amulet; indeed, so great was the virtue of these stones that\nthey were supposed to constitute an ornament for the gods also. The\ntext, as rendered by Fossey, is as follows:[348]\n\n Incantation. The splendid stones! The splendid stones! The stones of\n abundance and of joy.\n\n Made resplendent for the flesh of the gods.\n\n The _\u1e25ulalini_ stone, the _sirgarru_ stone, the _\u1e25ulalu_ stone, the\n _s\u00e2ndu_ stone, the _ukn\u00fb_ stone.\n\n The _dushu_ stone, the precious stone _elm\u00eashu_, perfect in celestial\n beauty.\n\n The stone of which the _pingu_ is set in gold.\n\n Placed upon the shining breast of the king as an ornament.\n\n Azagsud, high-priest of B\u00eal, make them shine, make them sparkle!\n\n Let the evil one keep aloof from the dwelling!\n\nThe names of two of these gems, the _\u1e25ulalu_ and the _\u1e25ulalini_,\nsuggest that they were of similar class. As the fundamental meaning of\nthe root whence the names are formed is \u201cto perforate,\u201d it is barely\npossible that we have here the long-sought Assyrian designation for\nthe pearl, which was commonly regarded in ancient times as a stone.\nIn Arabic the perforated pearl has a special name to distinguish it\nfrom the unperforated, or \u201cvirgin pearl.\u201d All we know of the _s\u00e2ndu_\nis that it must have been a dark-colored stone. The _ukn\u00fb_, however,\nis almost certainly the lapis-lazuli. It is often mentioned in the Tel\nel Amarna tablets as having been among the gifts sent by the kings\nof Babylonia and Assyria to the Pharaohs of Egypt, and also by the\nlatter to friendly Asiatic monarchs. Of the _sirgarru_ and _dushu_\nstones nothing is known, but the _elm\u00eashu_, the seventh in the list,\nwas evidently regarded as the most brilliant and splendid of all;\nindeed, Prof. Friedrich Delitzsch hazards the conjecture that it is\nthe diamond. In any case this stone must have been set in rings and\nconsidered very valuable, for in an Assyrian text occurs the following\npassage: \u201cLike an _elm\u00eashu_ ring may I be precious in thine eyes.\u201d[349]\nThe fact that this stone is described as having \u201ca celestial beauty\u201d\nmight incline us to believe that it was a sapphire.\n\nThe idea of this mystic ornament, composed of seven gems, probably\noriginated in Babylonia, where the number seven was looked upon as\nespecially sacred. As we shall see, there is some reason to attribute\na Hindu origin to the nine gems, \u201cthe covering\u201d of the King of Tyre,\nenumerated by Ezekiel, while the breastplate on the ephod of the Hebrew\nhigh-priest, with its twelve stones, symbolizing the twelve months\nof the year, appears to be of later date, and seems to belong to the\ntime of the return from the Babylonian Captivity and the building of\nthe second temple. Certainly, the historic and prophetic books of the\nOld Testament know nothing of it, although the Urim and Thummim are\nmentioned and the elaborate description given in Exodus is generally\nregarded by Biblical scholars as belonging to the so-called \u201cPriestly\nCodex,\u201d the latest part of the Pentateuch, gradually evolved during the\nExile and given its final form in the fifth century B.C.\n\nIn the very ancient Assyrio-Babylonian epic narrative of the descent\nof the goddess Ishtar to Hades, the guardian of the infernal regions\nobliges the goddess to lay aside some part of her clothing and\nornaments at each of the seven gates through which she passes. At the\nfifth, we are told that she stripped off her girdle of _aban al\u00e2di_, or\nstones which aided parturition.[350] It has been asserted, and perhaps\nwith some reason, that of the many mineral substances supposed to\npossess this virtue, jade (nephrite) or jadeite was the earliest known.\n\nThe Babylonian legends also tell of trees on which grow precious\nstones. In the Gilgamesh epic a mystic cedar tree is described. This\ngrew in the Elamite sanctuary of Irnina and was under the guardianship\nof the Elamite king Humbaba. Of this tree an inscription relates:\n\n    It produces _samtu_-stones as fruit;\n    Its boughs hang with them, glorious to behold;\n    The crown of it produces lapis-lazuli;\n    Its fruit is costly to gaze upon.\n\nAnother tree bearing precious stones was seen by the hero Gilgamesh,\nafter he had passed through darkness for the space of twelve hours.\nThis must have been a most resplendent object, to judge from the\nfollowing description on a cuneiform tablet:[351]\n\n    It bore precious stones for fruits;\n    Its branches were glorious to the sight;\n    The twigs were crystals;\n    It bore fruit costly to the sight.\n\nOne of the rarest and most significant specimens illustrating the use\nof valuable stones for religious ceremonial purposes in the pagan\nworld is in the Morgan-Tiffany collection. It is an ancient Babylonian\naxe-head made of banded agate. So regular, indeed, is the disposition\nof the layers in this agate that one might be justified in denominating\nit an onyx. Its prevailing hue is what may be called a \u201cdeer-brown\u201d;\nsome white splotches now apparent are evidently due to the action of\nfire or that of some alkali. This axe-head bears an inscription in\narchaic cuneiform characters, and presumably in the so-called Sumerian\ntongue, that believed to have been spoken by the founders of the\nBabylonian civilization. The form of the inscription indicates that the\nobject dates from an earlier period than 2000 B.C.\n\n[Illustration: BABYLONIAN AXE HEAD.\n\nAgate, with inscription. Morgan collection, American Museum of Natural\nHistory, New York.]\n\nWhile the characters are clearly cut and can be easily deciphered,\nthe inscription is nevertheless exceedingly difficult to translate.\nIt is evident that the axe-head was a votive offering to a divinity,\nprobably on the part of a certain governor named Adduggish; but whether\nthe divinity in question was Shamash (the sun-god), or the god Adad,\nor some other member of the Babylonian pantheon, cannot be determined\nwith any finality. The French assyriologist, Fran\u00e7ois Lenormant, who\nfirst described this axe-head in 1879, and Prof. Ira Maurice Price, of\nthe Semitic Department of Chicago University, both admit that it may\nhave been consecrated to Adad. As the weather-god, the thunderer, the\naxe-symbol would have been more especially appropriate to him in view\nof the usage, almost universal among primitive peoples, of associating\nstone axe-heads or axe-shaped stones with the thunderbolt, and hence\nwith the divinity who was believed to have launched it toward the earth.\n\nThis Sumerian axe-head measures 134.5 mm. in length (5.3 inches), 35.5\nmm. in width (1.4 inches), and 31 mm. in thickness (1.22 inches).\nIt was originally secured by Cardinal Stefano Borgia (1731-1804),\nfor some time secretary of the College of the Propaganda in Rome,\nwho probably acquired it from some missionary to the East. From the\ncardinal\u2019s family it passed for 15,000 lire ($3000) to the Tyszkiewicz\nCollection, and when the objects therein comprised were disposed of at\npublic sale, the writer purchased it for the American Museum of Natural\nHistory in New York, April 16, 1902.[352]\n\nAt Alicante, in Spain, cut upon the pedestal of an ancient statue,\nsupposed to have been that of Isis, was found an inscription giving a\nlist of the offerings dedicated by divine command, by a certain Fabia\nFabiana in honor of her granddaughter. Evidently the fond grandmother\nhad given of her best and choicest jewels which were used to adorn the\nstatue. They consisted of a diadem set with a \u201cunio\u201d (a large round\npearl) and six smaller pearls, two emeralds, seven beryls, two rubies,\nand a hyacinth. In each ear of the statue was inserted an ear-ring\nbearing a pearl and an emerald; about the neck was hung a necklace\nconsisting of four rows of emeralds and pearls, eighteen of the former\nand thirty-six of the latter. Two circlets bound around the ankles\ncontained eleven beryls and two emeralds, while two bracelets were\nset with eight emeralds and eight pearls. The adornment was completed\nby four rings, two bearing emeralds, while two, placed on the little\nfinger, were set with diamonds. On the sandals were eight beryls.[353]\n\nA notable instance of an antique votive offering is the necklace\nof valuable precious stones dedicated to the statue of Vesta. The\nByzantine historian Zosimus attributes the tragic end of Stilicho\u2019s\nwidow, Serena, to her having despoiled the image of Vesta of this\ncostly ornament, and finds a sort of poetic justice in the manner of\nher death, since she was strangled by a cord which encircled her neck.\n\nIt is not only in the works of the Fathers of the Christian Church\nthat we find precious stones used as similes of religious virtue, in\nBuddhist writings also we have examples of this. In the \u201cQuestions of\nKing Milinda,\u201d composed perhaps as early as the third century of our\nera, occur the following passages:[354]\n\n Just, O King, as the diamond is pure throughout; just so, O King,\n should the strenuous Bhikshu, earnest in effort, be perfectly pure in\n his means of livelihood. This, O King, is the first quality of the\n diamond he ought to have.\n\n And again, O King, as the diamond cannot be alloyed with other\n substance; just so, O King, should the strenuous Bhikshu, earnest in\n effort, never mix with wicked men as friends. This, O King, is the\n second quality of the diamond he ought to have.\n\n And again, O King, just as the diamond is set together with the most\n costly gems; just so, O King, should the strenuous Bhikshu, earnest\n in effort, associate with those of the highest excellence, with men\n who have entered the first or second or third stage of the Noble\n Path, with the jewel treasures of the Arahats, of the recluses of\n the threefold wisdom, or of the sixfold insight. This, O King, is\n the third quality of the diamond he ought to have. For it was said,\n O King, by the Blessed one,[355] the god over all gods, in the Sutta\n Nip\u00e2ta:\n\n    Let the pure associate with the pure,\n    Ever in recollection firm;\n    Dwelling harmoniously wise,\n    Thus shall ye put an end to griefs.\n\nThe description of the New Jerusalem in the book of Revelations finds a\ncurious parallel in the Hindu Puranas. Here we are told that the divine\nKrishna, the eighth incarnation of Vishnu, took up his abode in the\nwonderful city Dev\u00e2rak\u00e2, and was visited there by the various orders of\ngods and geniuses.[356]\n\n Gods, Asuras, Gandharas, Kinnaras began to pour into Dw\u00e1rak\u00e1, to see\n Krishna and Valar\u00e1ma.\n\n Some descended from the sky, some from their cars\u2014and alighting\n underneath the banyan tree, looked on Dw\u00e1rak\u00e1, the matchless.\n\n The city was square,\u2014it measured a hundred _yojonas_, and over all,\n was decked in pearls, rubies, diamonds, and other gems.\n\n The city was high,\u2014it was ornamented with gems; and it was furnished\n with cupolas of rubies and diamonds,\u2014with emerald pillars, and\n with court-yards of rubies. It contained endless temples. It had\n cross-roads decked with sapphires, and highways blazing with gems. It\n blazed like the meridian sun in summer.\n\nAs compared with the description in Revelations we cannot fail to note\nthe lack of definiteness. Instead of the well-ordered scheme of color\nas represented by the twelve precious stones dedicated to the twelve\ntribes of Israel, the mystic Hindu city is simply a gorgeous mass of\nthe most brilliant gems known in India.\n\nThe poetic description of the royal city Kusavati, given in the Maha\nSudassana Suttanta, may perhaps have originated in some tradition\nregarding Ecbatana or Babylon. Seven ramparts surrounded Kusavati,\nthe materials being respectively gold, silver, beryl, crystal, agate,\ncoral and (for the last) \u201call kinds of gems.\u201d In these ramparts\nwere four gates\u2014one of gold, one of silver, one of crystal and one\nof jade\u2014and at each gate seven pillars were fixed, each three or\nfour times the height of a man and composed of the seven precious\nsubstances that constituted the ramparts. Beyond the ramparts were\nseven rows of palm trees, the fourth row having trunks of silver and\nleaves and fruit of gold; then followed palms of beryl, with leaves\nand fruit of beryl; agate palms, whose fruit and leaves were of coral,\nand coral palms, with leaves and fruit of agate; lastly, the palms\nwhose trunks were composed of \u201call kinds of gems,\u201d had leaves and\nfruits of the same description, \u201cand when these rows of palm trees were\nshaken by the wind, arose a sound sweet and pleasant, and charming and\nintoxicating.\u201d[357]\n\nIn Greek literature also there is a \u201cgem-city,\u201d\u2014namely, the city\nof the Islands of the Blessed, described by Lucian in his Vera\nHistoria.[358] The walls of this city were of emerald, the temples\nof the gods were formed of beryl, and the altars therein of single\namethysts of enormous size. The city itself was all of gold as a fit\nsetting for these marvellous gems.\n\nHindu mythology tells of a wonderful tank formed of crystal, the\nwork of the god Maya. Its bottom and sides were encrusted with\nbeautiful pearls and in the centre was a raised platform blazing with\nthe most gorgeous precious stones. Although it contained no water,\nthe transparent crystal produced the illusion of water, and those\nwho approached the tank were tempted to plunge into it and take a\nrefreshing bath in what appeared to be clear, fresh water.[359]\n\nThe Kalpa Tree of Hindu religion, a symbolical offering to the gods, is\ndescribed by Hindu poets as a glowing mass of precious stones. Pearls\nhung from its boughs and beautiful emeralds from its shoots; the tender\nyoung leaves were corals, and the ripe fruit consisted of rubies. The\nroots were of sapphire; the base of the trunk of diamond, the uppermost\npart of cat\u2019s-eye, while the section between was of topaz. The foliage\n(except the young leaves) was entirely formed of zircons.[360]\n\nThe Chinese Buddhist pilgrim Heuen Tsang, who visited India between 629\nand 645 A.D., tells of the wonderful \u201cDiamond Throne\u201d which, according\nto the legend, had once stood near the Tree of Knowledge, beneath whose\nspreading branches Gautama Buddha is said to have received his supreme\nrevelation of truth. This throne had been constructed in the age called\nthe \u201cKalpa of the Sages\u201d; its origin was contemporaneous with that of\nthe earth, and its foundations were at the centre of all things; it\nmeasured one hundred feet in circumference, and was made of a single\ndiamond. When the whole earth was convulsed by storm or earthquake this\nresplendent throne remained immovable. Upon it the thousand Buddhas of\nthe Kalpa had reposed and had fallen into the \u201cecstasy of the diamond.\u201d\nHowever, since the world has passed into the present and last age, sand\nand earth have completely covered the \u201cDiamond Throne,\u201d so that it can\nno longer be seen by human eye.[361]\n\nIn the Kalpa Sutra, written in Prakrit, one of the sacred books of the\nJains, the rivals of the Buddhists, it is said that Harinegamesi, the\ndivine commander of the foot troops, seized fourteen precious stones,\nthe chief of which was _vajra_, the diamond, and rejecting their\ngrosser particles, retained only the finer essence to aid him in his\ntransformations. In the same sutra the following glowing description is\ngiven of the adornment of the surpassingly beautiful goddess Sri:[362]\n\n On all parts of her body shone ornaments and trinkets, composed\n of many jewels and precious stones, yellow and red gold. The pure\n cup-like pair of her breasts sparkled, encircled by a garland of\n Kunda flowers in which glittered a string of pearls. She wore\n strings of pearls made by clever and diligent artists, strung with\n wonderful strings, a necklace of jewels with a string of Dinaras, and\n a trembling pair of ear-rings, touching her shoulders, diffused a\n brilliancy; but the united beauties and charms of these ornaments were\n only subservient to the loveliness of her face.\n\nAs engraved decoration of a fine Chinese vase of white jade with\ndelicate crown markings, appear eight storks, each of which bears\nin its beak an attribute of one of the Eight Taoist Immortals. Thus\nwe have the double gourd as attribute of the most powerful of these\ndemi-gods known as \u201cLi with the Iron Crutch,\u201d whose aid is sought by\nmagicians and astrologers; the magic sword, with which Lu T\u2019ung-pin\nvanquished the spirits of evil that roamed through the Chinese Empire\nin the form of terrible dragons; the basket of flowers, attribute of\nLan Ts\u2019ai-ho, the patron of gardeners and florists; the royal fan used\nby Han Chung-li, of the Chow Dynasty (1122-220 B.C.), to call again to\nlife the spirits of the departed; the lotus flower, emblematic of the\nvirgin Ho Hsien-Ku, venerated somewhat as a patron saint by Chinese\nhousewives, and who acquired the gift of immortal life by the help of\na powder of pulverized jade and mother-of-pearl; the bamboo tubes and\nrods with which the mighty necromancer Chang Kuo, patron of artists,\nevoked the souls of the dead; the flute of the musicians\u2019 patron,\nHan Hsiang-tzu, who owed his immortality to his craft in stealthily\nentering the Taoist paradise and securing a peach from the sacred\ntree of life; and, lastly, the castanets of Tsao Kuo-chin, especially\nrevered by Chinese actors.\n\nThe prevailing belief in India, that treasures offered to the images\nor shrines of the gods will bring good fortune to the generous donor,\nfinds expression in many ancient and modern Hindu writings. In the Rig\nVeda it is said that \u201cby giving gold the giver receives a life of light\nand glory.\u201d In the Samaveda Upanishad we read: \u201cGivers are high in\nHeaven. Those who give horses live conjointly with the sun; givers of\ngold enjoy eternal life; givers of clothes live in the moon.\u201d Another\ntext (H\u00e2iti Smriti) reads:[363]\n\n Coral in worship will subdue all the three worlds. He who worships\n Krishna with rubies will be reborn as a powerful emperor; if with a\n small ruby, he will be born a king. Offering emeralds will produce\n Gyana or Knowledge of the Soul and of the Eternal. If he worships with\n a diamond, even the impossible, or Nirv\u00e2na, that is Eternal Life in\n the highest Heaven, will be secured. If with a flower of gold a man\n worships for a month, he will get as much wealth as Kuvera, the Lord\n of Rubies, and will hereafter attain to Nirv\u00e2na and to Muskwa, or\n Salvation.\n\nAt Multan, one of the most ancient cities of India, situated in the\nPunjab, 164 miles southwest of Lahore, there was in the Hindu temple\nan idol having for eyes two great pearls. The eyes of the rude image\nof Jagganath at Puri, in Bengal (Orissa), are said to have at one\ntime been formed of precious stones, as were also those of the idols\nof Vishnu at Chandernagore and in the great seven-walled temple at\nSrirangam, whence appears to have come the Orloff diamond.\n\nIn ceremonial worship the Hindus recognize sixteen offerings, the ninth\nconsisting of gems and jewelry, and a divine assurance of adequate\nreturn to the giver appears in the Bhagavat Purana, where Krishna\nsays, \u201cWhatever is best and most valued in this world and that which\nis most dear to you should be offered to me, and it will be received\nback in immense and endless quantity.\u201d On certain appointed days the\nholy images are decorated with the choicest garments and the richest\njewelry in the temple treasury; this is especially the case on the\nday celebrated as the birthday of the respective divinity. However,\nthe gifts are believed to retain their sacred character as dedicated\nobjects only for a comparatively brief period, varying from a month or\nmore for garments and vestments, to ten or twelve years for jewels,\nsuch as the naoratna or the panchratna, the prized and revered jewels,\ncomposed respectively of nine and five gems. The panchratna usually\nconsists of gold, diamond, sapphire, ruby, and pearl. After the gifts\nhave ceased to be worthy of use in the temples, they may be disposed\nof to defray the expenses of the foundation, including the cost of\nsupporting the numerous priests and attendants. As the objects still\nretain their sacred associations, they are eagerly bought by pious\nHindus, who undoubtedly regard them as valuable talismans. Thus they\nnot only serve to bring blessings upon the donors, but also constitute\none of the chief sources of income for the temples.[364]\n\nOne of the oldest and perhaps the most interesting talismanic jewel\nis that known as the naoratna or nararatna, the \u201cnine-gem\u201d jewel. It\nis mentioned in the old Hindu ratna\u00e7astras, or treatises on gems,\nfor example, in the Nararatnapar\u00eeksh\u00e2, where it is described as\nfollows:[365]\n\nManner of composing the setting of a ring:\n\n  In the centre     The Sun              The Ruby\n  To the East       Venus                The Diamond\n  To the Southeast  The Moon             The Pearl\n  To the South      Mars                 The Coral\n  To the Southwest  R\u00e2hu                 The Jacinth\n  To the West       Saturn               The Sapphire\n  To the Northeast  Jupiter              The Topaz\n  To the North      The descending node  The Cat\u2019s-eye\n  To the Northwest  Mercury              The Emerald\n                  Such is the planetary setting.\n\nFrom this description we learn that the jewel was designed to combine\nall the powerful astrological influences. The gems chosen to correspond\nwith the various heavenly bodies, and with the aspects known as the\nascending and descending nodes, differ in some cases from those\nselected in the West. For instance, the emerald is here assigned to\nMercury, whereas in Western tradition this stone was usually the\nrepresentative of Venus, although it is sometimes associated with\nMercury also.[366] On the other hand, the diamond is dedicated to\nVenus, instead of to the Sun as in the Western world.\n\n[Illustration: MANI M\u00c1L\u00c1, OR CHAIN OF GEMS.\n\nComprising diamond, ruby, cat\u2019s-eye, pearl, zircon, coral, emerald,\ntopaz, sapphire, chrysoberyl, garnet, carnelian, quartz and\nrock-crystal. A pendant is the naoratna, or \u201cnine-gem\u201d ornament,\nsuspended from which is a pear-shaped pearl.\n\nIn possession of the late Rajah Sir Surindro Mohun Tagore, of Calcutta.\nFrom his \u201cMani M\u00e1l\u00e1,\u201d Calcutta, 1879, Vol. I, iv-506 pp., 2 plates,\nportrait and plate; Vol. II, xiv + ii 507-1046 pp. Contains 49 figures\non 10 plates.]\n\nIn the naoratna the five gems known to the Hindus as the mah\u00e2ratn\u00e2ni,\nor \u201cgreat gems,\u201d\u2014the diamond, pearl, ruby, sapphire, and\nemerald,\u2014were, as we see, associated with the Sun and Moon, Venus,\nMercury, and Saturn, while the four lesser gems (uparatn\u00e2ni)\u2014namely,\nthe jacinth, topaz, cat\u2019s-eye, and coral\u2014represent Mars, Jupiter,\nR\u00e2hu, and the descending node. The two last named are very important\nfactors in astrological calculations and are often called the Dragon\u2019s\nHead and the Dragon\u2019s Tail. These designations signify the ascending\nand descending nodes, indicating the passage of the ecliptic by the\nMoon in her ascent above and descent below this arbitrary plane.\n\nIn three somewhat obscure passages of the Rig Veda there are references\nto the seven ratnas. Whether these were gems cannot be determined,\nsince the primary meaning of the word ratna is \u201ca precious object,\u201d not\nnecessarily a precious stone; but it is possible that we may have here\nan allusion to some earlier form of talisman, in which only the Sun,\nMoon, and the five planets were represented.\n\nIt is easy to understand that such a talisman as the naoratna,\ncombining the favorable influences of all the celestial bodies supposed\nto govern the destinies of man, must have been highly prized, and we\nmay well assume that only the rich and powerful could own this talisman\nin a form ensuring its greatest efficacy. For the Hindus believed that\nthe virtue of every gem depended upon its perfection, and they regarded\na poor or defective stone as a source of unhappiness and misfortune.\n\nIn modern times this talisman is sometimes differently composed. A\nspecimen shown in the Indian Court of the Paris Exposition of 1878\nconsisted of the following stones: coral, topaz, sapphire, ruby, flat\ndiamond, cut diamond, emerald, amethyst, and carbuncle. Here the cut\ndiamond, amethyst, and carbuncle take the place of the jacinth, pearl,\nand cat\u2019s-eye.\n\nInstead of uniting the different planetary gems in a single ring, they\nhave sometimes been set separately in a series of rings to be worn\nsuccessively on the days originally named after the celestial bodies.\nWe read in the life of Apollonius of Tyana (first century A.D.) by\nPhilostratus: \u201cDamis also relates that Iarchas gave to Apollonius seven\nrings named after the planets, and the latter wore these, one by one,\nin the order of the weekdays.\u201d[367] Although it is not expressly stated\nthat the appropriate stones were set in the rings, the custom of the\ntime makes it probable that this was the case.\n\n\nNINE GEMS.\n\n  English    Sanskrit    Burmese  Chinese (Canton) Arabic\n\n  Diamond    Vajra       Chein    Chun-syak        M\u00e2s\n  Ruby       Manikya     Budmiya  Se-fla-yu-syak   Y\u00e2k\u00fbt bihar\n  Cat\u2019s-eye  Vaid\u00fbrya    Ch\u00e2no    M\u00e2u-ji gan       Ain al-hirr\n  Zircon     Gomeda      Gomok    Pi-si            Hajar yam\u00e2n\u00ee\n  Pearl      Mukt\u00e2       Pa-le    Chun-ti          L\u00fbl\u00fb\n  Coral      Prav\u00e2la     Tad\u00e2     Sau-ho-chi       Murj\u00e2n\n  Emerald    Marakata    Muj\u00e2     Luk-syak         Zumurrud\n  Topaz      Pushyaraga  Outfiy\u00e2  Si-lang-syak     Y\u00e2k\u00fbt al-azrak\n  Sapphire   N\u00eela        N\u00eel\u00e2     Chang-syak       Y\u00e2k\u00fbt al-a\u00e7far\n\nAmong the Burmese the value for occult purposes of the nine gems\ncomposing the naoratna, or nararatna, is strictly determined in the\nfollowing order: first, the ruby; second, the diamond, or rock-crystal;\nthird, the pearl; fourth, the coral; fifth, the topaz; sixth, the\nsapphire; seventh, the cat\u2019s-eye; eighth, the amethyst; and ninth, the\nemerald.[368] That the ruby, diamond and pearl should occupy places of\nhonor is quite natural, but the relegation of the sapphire to sixth\nplace, after coral and topaz, seems to be a rather unfair treatment of\nthis beautiful stone.\n\n[Illustration: SCULPTURED JADE MOUNTAIN.\n\nProbably the largest mass of sculptured jade in existence. The design\ncommemorates the meetings of a literary club of the fourth century. The\nChinese characters (colored red) in the side of the cliff express the\nfamous _Lan Ting Hsu_, or \u201cEpidendron Pavilion Essay,\u201d by Wang Hi-che\n(A.D. 321-379), ever since used by the Chinese as a model of elegant\ncaligraphy, and were engraved directly from the autograph of the\nEmperor Ch\u2019ien-lung, written by him in 1784. Height 23 inches, width\n38\u00bd x 18\u00bd inches; weight 640 pounds. From the Summer Palace, west\nof Peking. Collection of T. D. Walker, of Minneapolis, Minn.]\n\nThe yellow girdles worn by the Chinese emperors of the Manchu dynasty\nwere variously ornamented with precious stones according to the\ndifferent ceremonial observances at which the emperor presided. For\nthe services in the Temple of Heaven, the very appropriate choice\nof lapis-lazuli ornaments was made; for the Altar of Earth, yellow\njade was favored; for a sacrifice on the Altar of the Sun, the gems\nwere red corals, while white jade was selected for the ceremonies\nbefore the Altar of the Moon. Jade of different colors was used for\nthe six precious tablets employed in the worship of heaven and earth\nand the four cardinal points. For the worship of Heaven there was\nthe dark-green round tablet; for that of Earth, an octagonal tablet\nof yellow jade. The East was worshipped with a green pointed tablet;\nthe West was worshipped with the white \u201ctiger-tablet\u201d; the North with\na black, semi-circular tablet, and the South with a tablet of red\njade.[369]\n\nOf all the Chinese works on jade the most interesting and remarkable\nis the _Ku y\u00fc t\u2019ou pu_ or \u201cIllustrated Description of Ancient Jade,\u201d\na catalogue divided into a hundred books and embellished with upward\nof seven hundred figures. It was published in 1176, and lists the\nmagnificent collection of jade objects belonging to the first emperor\nof the Southern Sung dynasty. One of the treasures here described was\na four-sided plaque of pure white jade over two feet in height and\nbreadth, and it was regarded as of altogether exceptional value, for\non it was a design miraculously engraven. This was a figure, seated on\na mat, with a flower-vase on its left and an alms-bowl on the right,\nin the midst of rocks enveloped in clouds. The figure was an image of\nthe Buddhist saint, Samantabahadra, and the plaque is said to have\nbeen washed out of a sacred cave in the year 1068, by a violent and\nmysterious current.[370]\n\nJade talismans are very popular at the present day in the Mohammedan\nworld, and among the Turks they are so highly prized as heirlooms that\nit is difficult to secure any of them. There is an orthodox Mohammedan\nsect, whose members call themselves Pekdash, and who during their whole\nlifetime carry about with them a flat piece of jade as a protection\nagainst injury or annoyance of every kind.[371]\n\nThe four rain-making gods are shown wearing necklaces of coral and\nturquoise in the ceremonial sand-paintings of the Navajos. These four\ngods are respectively colored to denote the four cardinal points;\nblack for North, blue for South, yellow for West, and white for East.\nThe whole painting, measuring nine by thirteen feet, is guarded on\nthree sides by magic wands; toward the East it is left unprotected,\nas only good spirits are believed to dwell in this direction. Each of\nthe rain-gods carries suspended from his right wrist an elaborately\ndecorated tobacco pouch, bearing the figure of a stone pipe. The\nNavajos believe that in this pouch the god places a ray of sunlight\nwith which he lights his pipe; when he smokes, clouds form in the sky\nand the rain descends. In the sand-picture representing the God of\nthe Whirlwind this divinity also wears ear-pendants and a necklace of\nturquoise.[372]\n\nOf the turquoise in Aztec times we have the testimony of the missionary\nBernardino de Sahagun that one variety, presumably that regarded as the\nfinest and most attractive, bore the name _teuxivitl_, which signified\n\u201cturquoise of the gods.\u201d No one was allowed either to own or wear this\nas it was exclusively devoted to the service of the gods, whether as a\ntemple offering, or for the decoration of the divine images. Sahagun\ndescribes this turquoise as \u201cfine, unspotted and very clear. It was\nvery rare and was brought to Mexico from afar. Some specimens were of\nrounded shape, like a hazel-nut cut in half; others were broad and\nflat, and some were pitted as though in a state of decomposition.\u201d[373]\n\nThe god of fire, Xiuhtecutli, or Ix\u00e7ocauhqui, presided over the\nceremony of piercing the ears of the young boys and girls. The image\nof this god was decorated with ear-rings encrusted with a mosaic of\nturquoise. He held in his left hand a buckler on which were five large\ngreen stones called _chalchiuitl_ (jadeite), placed in the form of a\ncross on a plate of gold almost covering the shield.[374]\n\nAt the time of the Spanish Conquest an immense emerald, almost as large\nas an ostrich egg, was adored by the Peruvians in the city of Manta.\nThis \u201cemerald goddess\u201d bore the name of Umi\u00f1a, and, like some of the\nprecious relics of the Christian world, was only exhibited on high\nfeast days, when the Indians flocked to the shrine from far and near,\nbringing gifts to the goddess. The wily priests especially recommended\nthe donation of emeralds, saying that these were the daughters of the\ngoddess, who would be well pleased to see her offspring. In this way\nan immense store of emeralds rewarded the efforts of the priests, and\non the conquest of Peru all these fine stones fell into the hands of\nPedro de Alvarado,[375] Garcilasso de la Vega, and their companions.\nThe mother emerald, however, had been so cleverly concealed by the\npriests of the shrine that the Spaniards never succeeded in gaining\npossession of it. Many of the other emeralds were destroyed because of\nthe ignorance and stupidity of some of their new owners, who, supposing\nthat the test of a true emerald was its ability to withstand hard\nblows, laid the stones on an anvil and hammered them to pieces. The old\nand entirely false notion that the genuine diamond could endure this\ntreatment may have suggested the unfortunate test.\n\nGarcilasso likens the growth of the emerald in its mine to that of\na fruit on a tree, and he believed that it gradually acquired its\nbeautiful green hue, that part of the crystal nearest the sun being\nthe first to acquire color. He notes an interesting specimen found in\nPeru, half of which was colorless like glass, while the other half was\na brilliant green; this he compares with a half-ripened fruit.[376]\n\n[Illustration: VOTIVE ADZE OF JADEITE FROM MEXICO.\n\na, Front view. b, Side view. c, Rear view. Kunz Collection, American\nMuseum of Natural History, New York. 10-13/16 \u00d7 6 \u00d7 4-5/8 inches,\nWeight, 19 pounds Troy.]\n\nThe remarkable jade adze, generally known as the \u201cKunz adze,\u201d was\nfound in Oaxaca, Mexico, brought to the United States about 1890, and\nis now in the American Museum of Natural History, New York. Of a light\ngreenish-gray hue, with a slight tinge of blue, this jade artefact is\n272 mm. long (10-13/16 inches), 153 mm. wide (6 inches) and 118 mm.\nthick (4-5/8 inches); its weight is 229.3 Troy ounces, nearly sixteen\npounds avoirdupois. Rudely, but not unskilfully, carved upon its face\nis a grotesque human figure. Four small, shallow depressions, one under\neach eye and one near each hand, may have served to hold in place\nsmall gold films, but no trace of gold decoration is now extant. In\nits mechanical execution this adze offers evidence of considerable\nskill on the part of the Aztec lapidary, the polish equalling that of\nmodern workers. In the fact that a large piece, which must apparently\nhave weighed at least two pounds, has evidently been cut out of this\nimplement by some one of its Indian owners, we can see a proof of the\ntalismanic power ascribed to jadeite in Aztec times, for there can be\nlittle doubt that nothing less than a belief in the great virtue of\njadeite coupled with the rarity of the material could have induced the\nmutilation of what must have been regarded in its time as a remarkable\nwork of art.[377]\n\nThe source of the prehistoric jade (nephrite and jadeite) found in\nEurope, and also of that worked into ornaments by the Indians before\nthe Spanish Conquest of America, was long the subject of contention\namong mineralogists and arch\u00e6ologists. In Germany this question was\ndenominated the _Nephritfrage_, and the most notable contribution to\nthe discussion was the great scientific and scholarly work issued by\nHeinrich Fischer.[378] His conclusion was that as there was no evidence\nof the existence of these minerals outside of a few localities in\nAsia, the European and American supply must have been brought to these\nparts of the world from Asia, and that hence the presence of these\njade artefacts in America clearly pointed to commercial intercourse at\nan early period between the American continent and Asia, and might be\nregarded as offering a strong argument in favor of an Asiatic origin\nfor an American civilization. According to this theory the prehistoric\njade objects found in Europe must have had a similar source, and would\nconstitute a proof of the existence of traffic with remote points in\nAsia at a date long previous to that commonly accepted.\n\nThis view was strongly opposed by Prof. A. B. Meyer, of Dresden, and\nrecent discoveries have effectively disproved the theory in the case\nof Europe at least, for nephrite has been found there _in situ_ in\nseveral places. The largest mass of this material that has been taken\nfrom a European deposit is that found by the writer at Jordansm\u00fchl in\nSilesia, in April, 1899, and which weighed 4704 pounds.[379] The origin\nof American jade in the forms of nephrite and jadeite has not yet\nbeen definitely determined, but we have every reason to suppose that\ndeposits of these minerals will eventually be discovered in various\nparts of the American continent, as they have already been in Europe.\nIndeed, the existence of nephrite in Alaska is already well attested.\n\nThe peculiar and characteristic qualities of these substances have\nmade them favorite materials for ornamental objects from the earliest\nages down to our own day, and in almost all parts of the world. A most\nimportant element contributing to the popularity of jade has been its\nsupposed possession of wonderful talismanic and therapeutic virtues,\nand while the Western world has not the same belief in these matters\nas the Eastern world, a more or less definite appreciation of what\njade still signifies for many in the Orient, continues to exercise an\ninfluence over both Americans and Europeans, making objects of nephrite\nor jadeite highly prized everywhere at the present time.\n\nThe term _chalchihuitl_ was indifferently applied by the ancient\nMexicans to a number of green or greenish-white stones; _quetzal\nchalchihuitl_, which was regarded as the most precious variety, may\nperhaps have more exclusively denoted jadeite. This is somewhat\nindefinitely described by Sahagun as being \u201cwhite, with much\ntransparency, and with a slight greenish tinge, something like jasper.\u201d\nOf eight ornamental objects of green stone examined some years ago by\nthe writer, four were of jadeite, one of serpentine, another of green\nquartz, and the remaining two of a mixture of white feldspar and green\nhornblende. An inferior kind of _chalchihuitl_, said by Sahagun to have\ncome from quarries in the vicinity of Tecalco, appears to have been\nidentical with the so-called \u201cMexican onyx\u201d which is found in veins in\nthat place and is an aragonite stalagmite. This material, from which\nfigures, ornaments and beads were made by the ancient Mexicans, is\nto-day greatly valued as an ornamental stone.\n\nThe greater number of ancient Mexican jadeite beads appear to have been\nrounded pebbles of this material, assorted as to size and drilled for\nuse in making necklaces. Other green stones used at this time in Mexico\nwere green jasper, green plasma, serpentine and also the \u201cTecalco\nonyx\u201d or \u201cmarble\u201d above mentioned. In many cases these substances are\nof such rich green that they might easily be mistaken for jadeite by\nthose who lacked the tests or the experience at the command of modern\nmineralogists. Should jadeite ever be found _in situ_ in Mexico, it\nseems probable that the discovery will be made in the State of Oaxaca,\nwhence came the finest ancient specimens, including the splendid\nvotive adze. Moreover, one of the few materials by which jadeite can\nbe worked is furnished by the streams of this region, whence have been\ntaken several rolled pebbles which the writer has identified as yellow\nand blue corundum, the quality being equal to that of specimens from\nCeylon.[380]\n\nGesner describes one of the lip ornaments worn by the aborigines of\nSouth America in the following words:[381]\n\n A green stone or gem which the inhabitants of the West Indies use.\n They pierce their lips and insert this stone so that the thicker\n part adheres to the hole and the rest protrudes. We might call these\n ornaments _oripenduli_ [mouth-pendants]. This stone was given me by\n a learned Piedmontese, Johannes Ferrerius, and he wrote of it as\n follows: \u201cI send a cylindrical green stone, as long as a man\u2019s middle\n finger, and having at one extremity two ridges. It is stated that the\n Brazilians of high rank wore these, from their youth, in their pierced\n lips; one or more being worn according to the dignity of the wearer.\n While eating, or whenever they so wish for any other reason, these\n ornaments are removed from the lips.\u201d\n\nSimilar ornaments, made of a green quartz and of beryl, are in the Kunz\ncollection in the Field Museum of Chicago.\n\nThe reason for these strange mutilations, which often cause serious\ndiscomfort to those who practice them, is not at all easy to determine.\nSome have conjectured that by the insertion of bright, colored objects\nin the ears, nose and lips, members of the same tribe were enabled\nto recognize each other at a distance; each tribe having selected a\nparticular color. However, although certain local preferences are shown\nin the matter of color or material, there is no hard and fast rule\nin this matter, and frequently neighboring tribes will employ stones\nor shells of the same or similar hue and appearance. Others find in\nthis custom a religious significance and suppose that the mutilation\nrepresents a form of sacrifice to the spirits, good or bad, who must\nbe rendered favorable to man by some act on his part showing his\nunconditional submission to them. Originating in this way the idea of\nadornment was a secondary impulse. It is a fact that ancient peoples\nregarded the wearing of ear-rings as a badge of slavery, and, according\nto a Rabbinical legend, Eve\u2019s ears were pierced as a punishment for her\ndisobedience, when she was driven from the Garden of Eden.\n\nA curious theory was advanced by Knopf.[382] He calls attention to the\nhabit children have of thrusting small bright objects into their noses\nand ears, and suggests that this indicates a natural propensity which,\ncoupled with the early-developed love of adornment, induced primitive\nman to affix ornamental objects on or in the nose, ear, or mouth. There\nmay be more in this than we are willing to admit, but on the whole it\nseems most probable that ceremonial and religious considerations gave\nrise to the custom.\n\nOne of the largest masses of sculptured Chinese jade is in the\ncollection of T. B. Walker, Esq., of Minneapolis. This shows a jade\nmountain, with groups of figures artistically placed at its base, and\nwinding pathways up to its summit. On the face of the rock is inscribed\nin beautiful Chinese characters the Epidendron Pavilion Essay of Wang\nHi-che, a masterpiece of Chinese calligraphy.\n\nAn enormous mass of New Zealand jade (punamu, \u201cgreen stone\u201d) weighing\n7000 pounds, found in South Island in 1902, is to be seen in the\nMuseum of Natural History, New York; it was secured by the writer and\nwas donated to the Museum by the late J. Pierpont Morgan. This is\nthe largest mass of jade known, or of which we have any record. On\nit is placed a remarkable and, in its own peculiar way, an artistic\ndecoration, serving as a type of old Maori life, and at the same\ntime designating the geographic source of the jade in a striking and\nunmistakable manner calculated to appeal to the least intelligent\nvisitor. This is a statue of a Maori warrior of the old days, executing\na war dance, characteristics of which were a distortion of the features\nand a thrusting out of the tongue intended to express defiance and\ncontempt of the enemy; the time or cadence of the dance was marked by\nslapping the thigh with the flat of the left hand. This figure was\nexecuted from life by Sigurd Neandross; indeed it was actually cast\nfrom the model, so that there can be no doubt as to its fidelity.\n\nRock-crystal is included among the various objects used as fetiches by\nthe Cherokee Indians. This stone is believed to have great power to\ngive aid in hunting and also in divining. One owner of such a crystal\nkept his magic stone wrapped up in buckskin and hid it in a sacred\ncave; at stated intervals he would take it out of its repository and\n\u201cfeed\u201d it by rubbing over it the blood of a deer. This goes to prove\nthat the stone, as a fetich, was considered to be a living entity and\nas such to require nourishment.[383]\n\n[Illustration: STATUE OF A MAORI WARRIOR, BY SIGURD NEANDROSS.\n\nThe base is a block of New Zealand jade from South Island, weighing\nthree tons. It was donated by Mr. J. Pierpont Morgan to the American\nMuseum of Natural History.]\n\nPrecious stones have been everywhere regarded as especially appropriate\nofferings at the shrine of a divinity, for the worshipper naturally\nthought that what was most valuable and beautiful in his eyes must also\nbe most pleasing to the divinity he worshipped. However, we rarely find\nthe usage which was remarked by Francisco Lopez de Gomara among the\nIndians of New Granada about the time of the Spanish Conquest.[384]\nThese natives \u201cburned gold and emeralds\u201d before the images of the sun\nand moon, which were regarded as the highest divinities. Certainly to\nuse precious stones for a \u201cburnt offering\u201d was an original and curious\nidea, although we have abundant proof that pearls were offered in this\nway by the mound-builders of the Mississippi Valley. In this case great\nquantities of pearls were burned at the obsequies of the chiefs of the\ntribes, or at those of any one belonging to the family of a chief.\n\nIn ancient Mexico the lapidaries adored the four following divinities\nas their tutelary gods: Chiconaui Itzcuintli (\u201cnine dogs\u201d), Naualpilli\n(\u201cnoble necromancer\u201d), Macuilcalli (\u201cfive horses\u201d), and Cintectl\n(\u201cthe god of harvest\u201d). A festival was celebrated in honor of the\nthree last-named divinities when the zodiacal sign called _chiconaui\nitzcuintli_ was in the ascendant. A feminine divinity represented this\nsign and to her was attributed the invention of the garments and the\nornaments worn by women. The four gods of the lapidaries were looked\nupon as the discoverers and teachers of the art of cutting precious\nstones and of piercing and polishing them, as well as of the making of\nlabrets and earflaps of obsidian, rock-crystal, or amber. They also\nwere the inventors of necklaces and bracelets.[385]\n\nThe stones worn by Chinese mandarins as a designation of their rank\nwere undoubtedly determined originally by religious or ceremonial\nconsiderations. They are as follows; it will be noticed that red stones\nare given the preference:\n\n  Red or pink tourmaline, ruby (and rubellite)      1st rank.\n  Coral or an inferior red stone (garnet)           2d rank.\n  Blue stone (beryl or lapis-lazuli)                3d rank.\n  Rock-crystal                                      4th rank.\n  Other white stones                                5th rank.\n\nThe knowledge of classical mythology was so slight among the\necclesiastics of the Middle Ages that some very queer attributions of\nthe subjects engraved on Greek and Roman gems were made during this\nperiod. A reliquary containing a tooth of the Apostle Peter, preserved\nin the Cathedral of Troyes, was set with antique gems which had been\nplundered by French and Venetian crusaders from the treasure-house\nof the Greek Emperor in Constantinople, when that city was sacked in\n1204 during the Fourth Crusade. Among these gems was one representing\nLeda and the Swan\u2014certainly a curious subject for the adornment of\na Christian reliquary. Another Greek or Roman gem, long preserved in\na church, was furnished by its Christian owners with an inscription\nindicating that the figure engraved upon it was that of St. Michael,\nwhile in reality it was a representation of the god Mercury. Still\nanother gem was provided with an inscription signifying that the\nsubject was the temptation of Mother Eve in the Garden of Eden, but the\nGreek gem engraver\u2019s intent had been to carve the figures of Zeus and\nAthena, standing before an olive tree, a design which appears on some\nAthenian coins; at the feet of the divinities appears a serpent. In a\nsimilar way the grain-measure crowning the head of Jupiter-Serapis led\nto the attribution of a gem so engraved to the patriarch Joseph.[386]\n\nAn engraved amethyst bearing the figure of a little Cupid is said to\nhave been worn in a ring by St. Valentine. While this may be somewhat\ndoubtful, it is by no means impossible, for many pagan gems were worn\nby pious Christians, who reconciled their consciences to the use of\nthese beautiful but scarcely religious ornaments by giving to the pagan\nsymbols a Christian meaning. Certainly, in view of the time-honored\ncustoms connected with St. Valentine\u2019s Day, there seems something\npeculiarly appropriate in the design of the ring supposed to have been\nworn by St. Valentine.\n\nThat precious stones had sense and feeling was quite generally believed\nin medieval times, and a legend told of St. Martial illustrates this\nidea. The gloves worn by this saint were studded with precious stones,\nand when on a certain occasion a sacrilegious act was committed in\nhis presence, the gems, horrified at the sight, sprang out of their\nsettings and fell to the ground before the eyes of the onlookers.\n\n[Illustration: TITLE PAGE OF A GROUP OF TREATISES BY VARIOUS AUTHORS,\nCOLLECTED AND EDITED BY CONRAD GESNER AT Z\u00dcRICH IN 1565.\n\nThe upper one of the two rings figured is set with a natural pointed\ndiamond, the lower one with a piece of amber enclosing an insect;\ngrouped around are twelve stones representing those of the Breastplate.]\n\nThe St. Sylvester or St. James stone is a banded agate in two colors,\nthe one dark and the other light, with a cat\u2019s-eye effect so that both\ncolors are equally visible. The light side represents the old year,\nwith its known occurrences, and the opaque side represents the new\nyear, which is dark like futurity. This is a typical stone for a New\nYear\u2019s present or for one born on St. Sylvester\u2019s Day, the last day of\nthe year. The popular tradition is that the member of a family or a\nhousehold who is last to arise on that day will be the last to arise\nall the year around.\n\nThe famous \u201cSacro Catino\u201d preserved in Genoa was long believed to be\nmade of a single immense emerald, but careful investigation proved that\nit was of no more valuable material than green glass. A legend still\ncurrent in the early part of the sixteenth century represented this\ncup, or dish, as having been used by Christ at the Last Supper, and\nstated that it was one of the utensils which King Herod ordered to be\nbrought from Galilee to Jerusalem for the celebration of the paschal\nfeast; but his purpose having been changed by Divine Providence, he\nmade other use of it.[387]\n\nA queer story has been told regarding the Genoese emerald. At one\ntime when the government was hard pressed for money, the Sacro Catino\nwas offered to a rich Jew of Metz as pledge for a loan of 100,000\ncrowns. He was loath to take it, as he probably recognized its spurious\ncharacter, and when his Christian clients forced him to accept it under\nthreats of dire vengeance in case of refusal, he protested that they\nwere taking a base advantage of the unpopularity of his faith, since\nthey could not find a Christian who would make the loan. However, when\nsome years later the Genoese were ready to redeem this precious relic,\nthey were much puzzled to learn that a half-dozen different persons\nclaimed to have it in their possession, the fact being that the Jew had\nfabricated a number of copies which he had succeeded in pawning for\nlarge sums, assuring the lender in each case that the redemption of the\npledge was certain.\n\nAmong the celebrated emeralds noted by George Agricola[388] (1490-1555)\nwas a large one preserved in a monastery near Lyons, France. This is\nalso mentioned by Gesner, who states that it was shaped as a dish,\nor shallow cup, and was held to be the Holy Grail, like its rival at\nGenoa.[389] Another of Agricola\u2019s emeralds was somewhat smaller, but\nnevertheless measured nine inches in diameter and was in the chapel\nof St. Wenceslaus, at Prague; this may have been a chrysoprase, as\nat the present day many fine specimens of this stone can be seen in\nSt. Wenceslaus, where the walls are inlaid with the golden green\ngem-stone. Still another, larger than the last named, was set in the\ngold monstrance in Magdeburg, and was believed to have been the handle\nof Emperor Otho I\u2019s knife, since it was perforated. Possibly, however,\nthe emerald, if genuine, was an Oriental stone, for it was customary to\npierce rubies, sapphires, emeralds, etc., in the East so as to string\nthem for necklaces or attach them as pendants to a jewel.\n\nIn the convent-church of St. Stephan, in Persian Armenia, erected about\nthe middle of the seventeenth century, it is related by the French\ntraveller Tavernier that there was preserved a cross said to be made\nout of the basin in which Christ washed the feet of the Apostles. Set\nin this cross was a white stone, and the priests asserted that when the\ncross was laid upon the body of one seriously ill, this stone would\nturn black if he were about to die, but would regain its white hue\nafter his death.[390]\n\nNo jewelled sacred image has been the object of greater reverence than\nhas been accorded to the rude little wooden carving popularly known as\nthe \u201cSacro Bambino\u201d or \u201cSacred Baby,\u201d in the old church of Ara Coeli\nin Rome. This figure was carved, in 1847, by a monk, out of a piece of\nolive-wood from one of the ancient trees growing on the Mount of Olives\nnear Jerusalem. The carving was executed in the Holy Land and was sent\nthence to Italy, and although the ship bearing it was shipwrecked, this\nprecious freight was miraculously preserved and is supposed to have\nbeen conveyed to its destination in some mysterious way. The reverence\nof the thousands of pilgrims who in the course of time have gazed\nwith veneration upon this quaint and curious work of art, has found\nexpression in the bestowal of a wealth of gems and jewels, including\nnecklaces, brooches, rings, etc., with which the silken dress of the\nimage is studded. A crown of gold adorned with precious stones rests\nupon the head of the olive-wood figure, which is jealously guarded\nby the priests and only shown to the faithful as a particular favor,\nexcept on the occasion of certain religious festivals.\n\nOne of the most renowned emeralds in the world surmounted the\nelaborately jewelled imperial crown that was placed upon the head of\nthe venerated image of the Virgen del Sagrario in the Cathedral of\nToledo. This emerald, of a rich green color, was cut as a perfect\nsphere and measured about 40 millimetres, or 1\u00bd inches, in diameter.\nThe crown itself was the work of the Toledan goldsmith, Don Diego Alejo\nde Montoya, who began his task in 1574 and devoted twelve years to its\ncompletion. It is described as being of almost pure gold and executed\nin the Renaissance style. Curiously chased in arabesque designs and\nenamelled in various colors, the framework of the crown served as a\nmagnificent background for the gems constituting its adornment, which\ncomprised rubies, emeralds, and Oriental pearls; a row of angels and\ncherubs sustained the arches which bore at their summit the allegorical\nfigures of Faith, Hope, and Charity; upon that representing Faith\nrested the splendid emerald. This precious ornament was still preserved\nin the Cathedral in 1865, but was so carelessly guarded that it was\nstolen in 1869.[391]\n\nIf we are to believe the following anecdote, the emerald disappeared\nat an earlier date: It is said that in 1809, during the French\noccupation of Spain, Marshal Junot visited this cathedral, and the\nemerald was pointed out to him as one of the chief glories of the\nshrine. As soon as the marshal\u2019s covetous glance rested upon the gem,\nhe plucked it from its setting, remarking, coolly, to the astonished\nand horrified bystanders, \u201cThis belongs to me.\u201d Then, smiling and\nbowing, he left the cathedral with the emerald safely ensconced in his\nwaistcoat pocket. Later, it was replaced by an imitation in glass.\n\nThe famous collection of jewels gathered together in the treasury of\nthe Santa Casa, at Loreto, Italy, was plundered during the French\noccupation in 1797, and all trace of most of the magnificent ornaments\nhas been lost. These represented the gifts of many crowned heads and\ntitled personages; among the former was the unfortunate Henrietta\nMaria, wife of Charles I, who donated a golden heart-shaped jewel with\nthe words \u201cJesus Maria\u201d incrusted in diamonds. This jewel is described\nas being \u201cas big as both a man\u2019s hands, opened onto two leaves, on\none of which was the figure of the Blessed Virgin and on the other a\nportrait of the queen herself.\u201d[392] Of the many rich vestments for\ndecorating the statue of the Virgin in the sanctuary, the most splendid\nwas the gift of the Infanta Isabel of Flanders, and was valued at\n40,000 crowns. In a seventeenth-century account by an English traveller\nit is thus described:[393]\n\n Its set thick with six rows of diamonds downe before, to the number of\n three thousand, and its all wrought over with a kinde of embroidery of\n little pearle set thick everywhere within the flowers with great round\n pearle, to the number twenty thousand pearles in all.\n\nThe same writer tells us the niche in which the statue was placed was\nbordered with a row of precious stones of great number, size, and\nvalue, the colors being so varied that this bordering formed \u201ca rich\nIris of several colors.\u201d There is also said to have been a great pearl,\nset in gold, and engraved with the image of the Virgin and Child.[394]\nIt seems probable that this was a jewel made of a baroque pearl, or\npearls, completed by enamel-work so as to represent the sacred figures.\n\nThe pectoral cross worn in solemn processions by the prior of the\nmonastery of San Lorenzo del Escorial was adorned with eight perfect\nemeralds, five diamonds, and five pearls. From it hung a splendid\npear-shaped pearl, the gift of Philip II in 1595, and one of the\nfinest of those acquired by this monarch. In 1740 the cross was valued\nat 50,000 crowns, Philip\u2019s great pearl not being included in this\nvaluation.[395]\n\nThe monastery of Streoneshalh, later Whitby Abbey, was founded\nabout 656 A.D. by Oswy, King of Northumbria, in fulfilment of a vow\nmade before his victory over the pagan king Penda, at the battle of\nWinwidfield, fought in November, 654. St. Hilda was made abbess of this\nmonastery, and Oswy\u2019s daughter Aelfleda took the veil and eventually,\nin 680, succeeded Hilda as abbess; she died in 713.[396] Tradition\nrelates that at this early date crosses and rosaries were made for the\ninmates of the monastery from the jet found in the neighborhood. The\n\u201cWhitby jet,\u201d so popular and fashionable in the eighteenth century, was\nlargely derived from the same source, and since then has had several\nrevivals, until replaced by black-stained chalcedony, the so-called\nonyx, and, later still, by steel carved with glass and glass itself.\n\nIn the sixteenth century jet was popularly called \u201cblack amber,\u201d and\nCardano states that in his time beads of this material were made up\ninto rosaries. He also says that curious figures made of jet were\nbrought from Spain to Italy.[397]\n\nMany are unaware of the fact that a number of ornamental objects made\nof nephrite and jadeite\u2014unquestionably of European origin\u2014are to be\nseen in the quiet little town of Perugia. These objects, collected\nprincipally in central and southern Italy, constitute the Belucci\nCollection, in that city. This collection also contains other specimens\nof worked jadeite, which must have been brought to Europe at the time\nof the Spanish conquest of Mexico and Peru. A very interesting example\nshows us the utilization of a pagan celt to form a Christian emblem.\nBy the removal of a rectangular piece from each of the four corners of\nthe jadeite celt, a perfect cross has been made, the back and front of\nwhich still offer the original polish given to the material centuries\nago by the native American worker. The superstitious belief propagated\nin Europe by the returning Spanish sailors, very probably an invention\nof their own to enhance the value of their jade and jadeite, that\nthese minerals were worn by the natives as a cure for diseases of the\nkidneys, whence the name _lapis nephriticus_, rendered the material\nexceptionally precious in the eyes of many, and quite possibly it may\nhave been thought that, by transforming this object into the sacred\nform of the cross, a talisman would be produced that would not only\neffect the cure of a special disease, but would also by its superior\nvirtue guard the wearer from harm and danger of all kinds. Here may\nalso be seen some celts of European jade sewed up in little bags to be\nworn on the loins.\n\n[Illustration: 1. Cross made from a celt of jadeite (Mexican), bought\nfrom a peasant in Perugia. This was originally a celt and was divided\ninto four pieces. Of Mexican origin and brought to Italy in sixteenth\ncentury. Belluci Collection.\n\n2. Jadeite celt, from Guatemala.\n\n3. Celt, Aboriginal. A small stone hatchet made of jade nephrite, of\nthe kind believed by the peasants to be thunderbolts. Mounted in silver\nto be worn as a charm. This specimen, tied over the loins, is said to\nhave been worn as recently as fifty years ago by a Scottish gentleman\nas a cure for kidney disease. British Museum.]\n\nCertain curious amulets called _magatama_ (crooked jewels) have been\nfound in Japanese graves of the iron age;[398] they are formed of\nvarious materials, among others of steatite, jasper, carnelian, agate,\nrock crystal, chrysoprase and nephrite (jade). In the shell heaps of\na period preceding the iron age, the magatama are frequently made of\nhorn, or of boar\u2019s or wolf\u2019s teeth, and their peculiar form, which\nis variously explained as a symbol, may have been conditioned by the\nshape of the materials originally used. The _magatama_ were evidently\nregarded as amulets. \u201cThey are generally perforated at the thick end,\nand were worn on a string, together with beads and bugles of the same\nmaterial.\u201d These peculiar ornaments were used to adorn the statues of\nthe gods and were also employed as imperial insignia and distinctive\nmarks of high rank. At the present day they are numbered among the\nthree emblems of sovereignty in Japan.\n\nA green and a red magatama are combined in the national emblem of Korea\nand a similar figure is used in China to symbolize the union of the\nmasculine and feminine principles (Yang and Yin) in nature. Dr. Baelz\nbelieves that the swastika emblem, encountered in so many different\nparts of the world, belongs to the same order of ideas.\n\nThe Bghai tribes of Burma have many superstitions in regard to stones,\nsuch as garnets, rock-crystal, chalcedony, carnelian, agate, onyx\nand others of less value, their repute not depending entirely or\nprincipally upon their quality as gem-stones. In almost every household\nis installed a stone fetish, and blood offerings are on occasion made\nto this. A question as to the reason for this offering elicited the\nfollowing reply: \u201cIf we do not give it blood to eat it will eat us.\u201d A\ncommon belief was that spirits good or bad dwelt in the stones, and in\ncase a great misfortune befell a family, this was sometimes laid to the\ncharge of such a spirit. The father of a family having died, his widow\ncommanded her son to throw away their magic stone. This he did, but the\nspirit was not to be denied, for shortly afterward this very stone was\nfound to have returned to its accustomed place, and had even brought\ntwo companion stones with it![399]\n\nRuy Gonzalez de Clavijo, who travelled in the East during the years\n1403-1406, gives a description of a slab of stone bearing the outlines\nof a \u201cnatural picture,\u201d and placed in the church of St. Sophia, in\nConstantinople:[400]\n\n In the wall, on the left-hand side, there is a very large white\n slab, on which, among many other figures, was drawn, very naturally,\n without any human artifice of sculpture or painting, the most sacred\n and blessed Virgin Mary, with our Lord Jesus Christ in her most holy\n arms, with his most glorious forerunner, St. John the Baptist, on one\n side. These images, as I said before, are not drawn or painted with\n any color, or inlaid, but the stone itself gave birth to this picture,\n with its veins, which may be clearly seen; and they say that when this\n stone was cut, to be placed in this most holy place, the workman saw\n these most wonderful and fortunate images on it, and, as this church\n was the most important one in the city, that stone was deposited in\n it. The said images appear as if they were in the clouds of heaven,\n and as if there was a thin veil before them.\n\nMany other examples of these \u201cnatural gems\u201d are noted by early writers.\nAmong them was an agate gem in the treasury of the Basilica of St.\nMark, in Venice. Upon this gem appeared the head of a king, adorned\nwith a diadem, the whole design being figured naturally by the veining\nof the agate, and not owing anything to artifice. In the same city,\nupon a column in the church of San Georgio Maggiore, could be seen the\nlikeness of Our Lord, hanging from the Cross.[401]\n\nSuch stones, with peculiar markings indicating the form of human heads\nand figures, were regarded as the work of higher powers.\n\nAnother remarkable example is described by Kircher as follows:[402]\n\n In Rome, in the Chapel of the Sacred Virgin, near the organ to the\n right hand of those who enter the Church of St. Peter, an image may be\n seen in which the Blessed Virgin of Loreto is so artistically depicted\n by Nature that it appears to be the work of an artist\u2019s hand. She is\n attired in a triple garment, divided by a zone, and holds in her arms\n the child, who is distinguished by a crown, as is the mother. Around\n may be seen the figures of angels.\n\nThe red spots upon the bloodstone were said in Christian legend to\nrepresent the blood of Christ. This idea has been beautifully utilized\nin some gems cut from this stone, whereon the thorn-crowned head of\nChrist is so placed that the red spots of the bloodstone figure the\ndrops of blood trickling down the hair and face of the Saviour. Such a\ngem might well be looked upon as a Christian amulet and one that could\nbe reverently worn by any believer.\n\nThe ignorance in the Middle Ages of the art of gem-engraving often\ninduced the belief that engraved stones were the work of nature. A\nstriking instance of this was the celebrated stone over the figure of\nthe Mother of Jesus, on the tomb of St. Elizabeth of Marburg. On this\ngem appeared two heads touching each other, and it was, according to\ntradition, not a work of art, but a freak of the sculptress Nature. An\noft-repeated legend tells us that a former Elector of Mainz offered the\nwhole district of Am\u00f6neberg for this costly stone, which robber hands\nremoved at Cassel. It is in reality a fine onyx engraved with the heads\nof Castor and Pollux.[403]\n\nWe might be disposed to regard rather sceptically the tales regarding\nwonderful stones bearing the image of Christ, or that of the Virgin\nMary, and we may be inclined to believe that the old accounts are\nexaggerated or distorted by the pious imaginations of the writers.\nNevertheless, in our own time we have a well-attested case of the\ndiscovery of such a stone.\n\nIn 1880, while visiting the village of Oberammergau, Bavaria, to\nwitness the Passion Play, Mrs. Eugenia Jones-Bacon, of Atlanta,\nGeorgia, found on Mount Kopfel, which overlooks the village, a small\nstone composed of chert and limestone, and having on its surface\nexcrescences so disposed that, when the stone was held at a certain\nangle, the shadows cast by them formed a striking likeness of the head\nof Christ as depicted in Christian art. This peculiar freak specimen\nhas been carefully examined by experts and has been pronounced to be\nentirely a work of nature. The mineralogist is not disposed to see here\nanything more than coincidence, and yet the most sceptical cannot fail\nto be impressed by the fact that such a stone was found at the time\nand place of the Passion Play. As Max M\u00fcller said, in commenting on\nthis strange discovery: \u201cThe chapter of accidents is much larger than\nwe imagine,\u201d and the present writer feels disposed to add that it is\nremarkable how often we find what we are looking for, especially if we\nare only looking or thinking of one object or subject.\n\nThe religious symbolism of the diamond was a favorite theme with the\nthirteenth century \u201clapidaria,\u201d or rhymed treatises on precious stones.\nJust as it could only be discovered by night\u2014an old fancy\u2014so was the\nIncarnation a hidden mystery; it gave forth a great light, just as\nJesus illumined the depths of Hades when he descended thither; it was\nunconquerably hard, and who can resist the might of God?[404]\n\nThe medi\u00e6val Italians who were fond of seeking some hidden and\nsignificant meaning in the names of precious stones, in the case of\nthe diamond (diamante), read the phrase _amante di Dio_, or \u201clover\nof God.\u201d[405] This was a reason for regarding the brilliant gem as a\nsacred stone and one especially suitable for religious use.\n\nThe Rosicrucians, who sought to combine pagan with Christian types and\nfigures, saw in the amethyst and the amethystine color a symbol of the\ndivine male sacrifice, since the stone and the color were typical of\nlove, truth, passion, suffering, and hope. The love of Christ led him\nto make the supreme sacrifice and suffer the agony of the Cross, and\nthe Crucifixion was followed by the Resurrection, whence came the hope\nof mankind to enjoy eternal happiness in heaven.\n\nThe chiastolite, or macle, shows the representation of a cross on\nits surface, this effect being produced by the regular arrangement\nof carbonaceous impurities along the axes of the crystal. The name\nsignifies a marking resembling the Greek letter \u03a7 (chi). This marking\nis often very striking in appearance, and the crystal was naturally\nregarded as having a mystical and religious significance. It was said\nto stanch the flow of blood from any part of the body if worn so as to\ntouch the skin, and it was also believed to increase the secretion of\nmilk. All kinds of fevers were cured by this mineral if it were worn\nsuspended from the neck, and the divine symbol it bore served to drive\naway evil spirits from the neighborhood of the wearer.\n\nThis very interesting mineral occurs very frequently in mica schists.\nWhen found, it appears about the thickness of a small finger, tapering\nslightly at each edge. If broken near one end, it often shows a white\ncross with a veined outline of black, making a distinct cross with\nblack markings. The crystals frequently measure from two to four inches\nin length, and are found in Massachusetts, California, and other\nplaces. If small segments are broken off, it will be found that the\nblack outline will become stronger, and the white less marked, until\nfinally a black cross will appear, with white markings. The white\nmaterial is the result of two white wedges pushed point onward until\nthe ends meet, the narrow end of one wedge being crossed by the broad\nend of the second wedge, and the black filling in the balance of the\nsquare. No two of these square crosses can thus ever be exactly alike,\nand, when polished, the crystals naturally form an interesting stone\nthat was known as _lapis crucifer_, or cross-stone by the ancients.\n\n[Illustration: STAUROLITE CRYSTALS (FAIRY STONES).\n\nPatrick County, Virginia.]\n\nThe peculiar form of the mineral known as staurolite (from the Greek\n\u03c3\u03c4\u03b1\u03c5\u03c1\u03cc\u03c2 cross) is due to the twinning of two crystals at right angles.\nIn Cronstedt\u2019s treatise on mineralogy, published in Stockholm in 1758,\nwe are told that the staurolite was sometimes called Baseler Taufstein\n(baptismal-stone) or _lapis crucifer_, the former name being used in\nBasel, where the stone was employed as an amulet at baptisms. However,\nthe _lapis crucifer_ of De Boot appears from his description to have\nbeen the chiastolite. In Brittany these twin crystals were worn as\ncharms, and local legends state that they had dropped from the heavens.\n\nFine crystals of staurolite have been found in Patrick County,\nVirginia, and there is said to be a beautiful local legend in regard\nto their origin. Near where they are found there wells up a spring of\nlimpid water, and the story goes that one day, long, long ago, when the\nfairies were dancing and playing around this spring, an elfin messenger\nwinged his way through the air and alighted among them. He bore to\nthem the sad tidings of the crucifixion of Christ in a far-off city.\nSo mournful was his recital of the sufferings of the Saviour that the\nfairies burst into tears, and these fairy tear-drops, as they fell to\nearth, crystallized into the form of the cross. These natural crosses\nare in great demand as charms, and ex-President Roosevelt is said to\nwear one of them mounted as a watch-charm.\n\nThere has been found in the southern part of New Mexico, and in\nnorthern Mexico, a blue variety of calamine, a hydrous silicate of\nzinc, colored blue by an admixture of copper. This stone has been cut\ninto gem form and has been sold to a certain extent as a cheap gem.\nIt is translucent and is sometimes veined with white wavy lines. The\nMexican Indians employed in the mines often set up a cross and a candle\nnear where they are working, so that they may pay their devotions at\nthis improvised shrine. In Sonora and Western Chihuahua the Indians\nfrequently place a piece of the stone to which we have alluded\nalongside the cross. They may be attracted by its beautiful blue color,\nor they may believe that it is a turquoise, although it does not\nresemble this latter stone, which is more opaque, of a different shade\nof blue and of a different composition.\n\nIn some epitaphs the hope of the resurrection finds expression in\nlikening the body enclosed in its narrow coffin to a precious jewel in\nits casket. The following lines from a tombstone erected in 1655 to\nthe memory of Mary Courtney, at Fowell, Cornwall, England, give a good\nexample of this class of inscription:[406]\n\n    Near this a rare jewell\u2019s set,\n    Clos\u2019d up in a cabinet.\n    Let no sacrilegious hand\n    Breake through\u2014\u2019tis y^e strickte comaund\n    Of the jeweller: who hath sayd\n    (And \u2019tis fit he be obey\u2019d)\n    I\u2019ll require it safe and sound\n    Both above and under ground.\n\nIn a churchyard at Prittlewell, Essex, England, a rather whimsical\ntreatment of the same idea is offered by some verses engraved on the\nstone marking the graves of two wives of a certain Freeborne, the first\nof whom died in 1641 and the second in 1658. The bereaved husband\nseems to have been perfectly willing to await the Day of Judgment for\nthe return of his lost spouses:[407]\n\n    Under this stone two precious gems do ly\n    Equall in weight, worth, lustre, sanctity:\n    Yet perhaps one of them do excell;\n    Which was\u2019t who knows? ask him y^t knew y^{em} well\n    By long enjoyment. If he thus be prest,\n    He\u2019el pause, then answere: truly both were best:\n    Were\u2019t in my choice that either of y^e twain\n    Might be returned to me to enjoy agayne,\n    Which should I chuse? Well, since I know not whether;\n    Ile mourne for the losse of both, but wish for neither,\n    Yet here\u2019s my comfort, herein lyes my hope,\n    The tyme a comeinge cabinets shall ope\n    Which are lockt fast: then shall I see\n    My Jewells to my joy, my Jewells mee.\n\nThe Christian symbolism of colors has in many cases determined the\nuse of certain colored gems for religious ornaments, and therefore\nthe following summary of their principal significance is of interest\nhere:[408]\n\n WHITE is regarded as the first of the canonical colors, and as\n emblematic of purity, innocence, virginity, faith, life, and light.\n For this reason it is used in the ceremonies of Easter and Christmas,\n as in those of the Circumcision and Epiphany of Our Lord. As the\n color of virginity it is especially appropriate for the festival of\n the Virgin Mary, and as that of faith not sealed with blood, for the\n festivals of the saints who were not martyred. The heavenly host of\n angels and saints wear white robes, and in pictures of the Assumption\n of the Virgin she is frequently clad in white.\n\n RED is used at the feasts of the Exaltation and Invention of the\n Cross, at Pentecost, and at the Feast of Martyrs. It suggests and\n symbolizes suffering and martyrdom for the faith, and the supreme\n sacrifice of Christ upon the Cross. Divine love and majesty are also\n typified by this color.\n\n BLUE is an emblem of the celestial regions and of the celestial\n virtues. Nevertheless, as this is not one of the five canonical\n colors, it is not employed for the decoration of churches or for\n ecclesiastical vestments. In Christian art, however, the Virgin and\n the saints and angels are often robed in blue.\n\n YELLOW of a golden hue is emblematic of God\u2019s goodness and of faith\n and good works, but it is not a canonical color. A dull yellow,\n however, has the opposite signification, and is a type of treachery\n and envy. Hence Judas is garbed in yellow of a dull hue, and heretics\n wore garments of this shade when they were condemned to the stake.\n\n GREEN is the canonical color for use on Sundays, week-days, and\n ordinary festivals. Hope and joy and the bright promises of youth are\n signified by green.\n\n VIOLET, another canonical color, is appropriate for use on\n Septuagesima and Quinquagesima Sundays, during Lent, and on Advent\n Sunday. The chastening and purifying effects of suffering find\n expression in this color.\n\n BLACK, also a canonical color, is a symbol of death and of the\n mourning and sorrow inspired by death. Therefore it is only used in\n the Church on Good Friday, to symbolize the sorrow and despair of the\n Christian community at the death of Christ, a sorrow soon to be turned\n to joy by His glorious resurrection.\n\n[Illustration: FRONTISPIECE OF THE \u201cVESTITUS SACERDOTUM HEBR\u00c6ORUM,\u201d OF\nJOHANN BRAUN, AMSTERDAM, 1680.\n\nThe vignettes at the top illustrate the source of the materials of\nthe vestments, etc.; as the nopal, source of the cochineal insect;\ngold-thread; linen; a sheep for wool; Tyre and the purple murex. The\nother vignettes show separate parts of the high-priest\u2019s attires and\nin the centre appear two figures of the high-priest, each garbed in\ndifferent sets of vestments.]\n\n\n\n\nVIII\n\nOn the High-Priest\u2019s Breastplate\n\n\nVery early, and very naturally, the religious nature of man led to\nthe use of precious stones in connection with worship\u2014the most\nvaluable and elegant objects being chosen for sacred purposes. Of\nthis mode of thought, we have a striking instance in the accounts\ngiven, in the book of Exodus, of the breastplate of the High-priest,\nand the gems contributed for the tabernacle by the Israelites in the\nwilderness. Another religious association of such objects is their use\nto symbolize ideas of the Divine glory, as illustrated in the visions\nof the prophet Ezekiel and in the description of the New Jerusalem\nin the book of Revelation. Apart from such legitimate uses, however,\ngems have become associated with all manner of religious fancies and\nsuperstitions, traces of which appear in the Talmud, the Koran, and\nsimilar writings; they have also been dedicated to various heathen\ndeities. Even in modern times, some trace of the same ideas remains in\nthe ecclesiastical jewelry and its supposed symbolism.\n\nIn the vision of Ezekiel i, 26, and in a brief allusion to the similar\nappearance of the God of Israel in Exodus xxiv, the throne of Jehovah,\nor the pavement beneath his feet, is compared to a sapphire, and the\nApostle John, in the Apocalypse, describes the Great White Throne as\nsurrounded by a rainbow like an emerald.\n\nThe Rabbinical writings, instead of the simple grandeur of these\nbiblical comparisons, give us many fanciful ideas. The stones of the\nbreastplate are here represented as sacred to twelve mighty angels\nwho guard the gates of Paradise, and wondrous tales are told of the\nluminous gems in the tent of Abraham and the ark of Noah. Mohammedan\nlegend represents the different heavens as composed of different\nprecious stones, and in the Middle Ages these religious ideas became\ninterwoven with a host of astrological, alchemistic, and medical\nsuperstitions.\n\nThe following is the description of the breastplate given in Exodus\n(xxviii, 15-30):\n\n And thou shalt make the breastplate of judgment with cunning work;\n after the work of the ephod thou shalt make it; of gold, of blue, and\n of purple, and of scarlet, and of fine twined linen shalt thou make it.\n\n Foursquare it shall be being doubled; a span shall be the length\n thereof, and a span shall be the breadth thereof.\n\n And thou shalt set in it settings of stones, even four rows of stones:\n the first row shall be a sardius, a topaz, and a carbuncle: this shall\n be the first row.\n\n And the second row shall be an emerald, a sapphire, and a diamond.\n\n And the third row a ligure, an agate, and an amethyst.\n\n And the fourth row a beryl, and an onyx, and a jasper; they shall be\n set in gold in their enclosings.\n\n And the stones shall be with the names of the children of Israel,\n twelve, according to their names, like the engravings of a signet;\n every one with his name shall they be according to the twelve tribes.\n\n And thou shalt make upon the breastplate chains at the ends of\n wreathen work of pure gold.\n\n And thou shalt make upon the breastplate two rings of gold, and shalt\n put the two rings on the two ends of the breastplate.\n\n And thou shalt put the two wreathen chains of gold in the two rings\n which are on the ends of the breastplate.\n\n And the other two ends of the two wreathen chains thou shalt fasten\n in the two ouches, and put them on the shoulder-pieces of the ephod\n before it.\n\n And thou shalt make two rings of gold, and thou shalt put them upon\n the two ends of the breastplate in the border thereof, which is in the\n side of the ephod inward.\n\n And two other rings of gold thou shalt make, and shalt put them on the\n two sides of the ephod underneath, toward the forepart thereof, over\n against the other coupling thereof, above the curious girdle of the\n ephod.\n\n And they shall bind the breastplate by the rings thereof unto the\n rings of the ephod with a lace of blue, that it may be above the\n curious girdle of the ephod, and that the breastplate be not loosed\n from the ephod.\n\n And Aaron shall bear the names of the children of Israel in the\n breastplate of judgment upon his heart, when he goeth in unto the holy\n place, for a memorial before the Lord continually.\n\n And thou shalt put in the breastplate of Judgment the Urim and the\n Thummim; and they shall be upon Aaron\u2019s heart, when he goeth in before\n the Lord: and Aaron shall bear the judgment of the children of Israel\n upon his heart before the Lord continually.\n\nOf the miraculous quality of the stones worn by the high-priest, the\nJewish historian Josephus (37-95 A.D.) says:[409]\n\n From the stones which the high-priest wore (these were sardonyxes,\n and I hold it superfluous to describe their nature, since it is known\n to all), there emanated a light, as often as God was present at the\n sacrifices; that which was worn on the right shoulder instead of a\n clasp emitting a radiance sufficient to give light even to those\n far away, although the stone previously lacked this splendor. And\n certainly this in itself merits the wonder of all those who do not,\n out of contempt for religion, allow themselves to be led away by a\n pretence of wisdom. However, I am about to relate something still more\n wonderful, namely, that God announced victory in battle by means of\n the twelve stones worn by the high-priest on his breast, set in the\n pectoral. For such a splendor shone from them when the army was not\n yet in motion, that all the people knew that God himself was present\n to aid them. For this reason the Greeks who reverence our solemnities,\n since they could not deny this, called the pectoral \u03bb\u03cc\u03b3\u03b9\u03bf\u03bd or oracle.\n However, the pectoral and the onyxes ceased to emit this radiance\n two hundred years before the time when I write this, because God was\n displeased at the transgressions of the Law.\n\nThis writer, who must have seen the high-priest wearing his elaborate\nvestments, says that the breastplate was adorned \u201cwith twelve stones of\nexceptional size and beauty, a decoration not easily to be acquired, on\naccount of its enormous value.\u201d[410] However these gems were not merely\nrare and costly; they also possessed wonderful and miraculous powers.\nWriting about 400 A.D., St. Epiphanius, Bishop of Constantia, tells of\na marvellous _adamas_ which was worn on the breast of the high-priest,\nwho showed himself to the people, arrayed in all his gorgeous\nvestments, at the feasts of Pascha, Pentecost, and Tabernacles. This\nadamas was termed the \u03b4\u03ae\u03bb\u03c9\u03c3\u03b9\u03c2 or \u201cDeclaration,\u201d because, by its\nappearance, it announced to the people the fate that God had in store\nfor them. If the people were sinful and disobedient, the stone assumed\na dusky hue, which portended death by disease, or else it became the\ncolor of blood, signifying that the people would be slain by the sword.\nIf, however, the stone shone like the driven snow, then the people\nrecognized that they had not sinned, and hastened to celebrate the\nfestival.[411]\n\nThere seems to be little doubt that this account is nothing more than\nan elaboration and modification of the passage in Josephus. Evidently\nthe \u03bb\u03cc\u03b3\u03b9\u03bf\u03bd (oracle) of Josephus has become the \u03b4\u03ae\u03bb\u03c9\u03c3\u03b9\u03c2 (declaration).\n\nWhen Moses wished to engrave on the stones of the breastplate the\nnames of the twelve tribes of Israel, he is said to have had recourse\nto the miraculous _shamir_. The names were first traced in ink on the\nstones, and the shamir was then passed over them, the result being\nthat the traced inscriptions became graven on the stones. In proof of\nthe magical character of this operation, no particles of the gems were\nremoved in the process.[412] The name really designates \u201cemery.\u201d\n\n[Illustration: THE HEBREW HIGH-PRIEST ATTIRED WITH HIS VESTMENTS.\n\n(From Johann Braun\u2019s \u201cVestitus Sacerdotum Hebr\u00e6orum,\u201d Amsterdam, 1680,\nopp. p. 822.)]\n\nAn argument against the use of especially rare and costly stones in the\ndecoration of the breastplate has been found in its probable size.[413]\nWe are told that when folded it measured a span in each direction, and\nthis would indicate that its length and breadth were each from eight\nto nine inches. In this case the stones themselves might have measured\ntwo by two and a half inches, and, in view of the number of characters\nrequired to express some of the tribal names, these dimensions do not\nseem excessive. It is highly improbable that in the time of Moses\nprecious stones like the ruby, the emerald, or the sapphire would have\nbeen available in these dimensions. The difficulty of engraving very\nhard stones with the appliances at the command of the Hebrews of this\nperiod must also be taken into consideration. As we shall see, however,\nthere is good reason to believe that after the Babylonian Captivity a\nnew breastplate was made, and at that time it may have been easier to\nsecure and work precious stones of great value and a high degree of\nhardness. We must also bear in mind that in those periods perfection\nwas not so great a requisite as rich color.\n\n[Illustration: I, II, THE BREASTPLATE UNFOLDED.\n\n_A_, lower fold; _B, B, B, B_, rings for attachment to Ephod; _C_,\nthe twelve gems in their settings; _D, D_, hooks for attachment to\nshoulder; _E, E_, bands to pass through rings in Ephod.\n\nIII. EPHOD WITH BREASTPLATE FOLDED AND ATTACHED.\n\n_G, G_, rings through which pass bands of Breastplate; _H, H_, bands of\nEphod. From Johann Braun\u2019s \u201cVestitus Sacerdotum Hebr\u00e6orum,\u201d Amsterdam,\n1680.]\n\nIn his commentary on Exodus xxviii, Cornelius \u00e0 Lapide (Cornelius Van\nden Steen) discusses the question of the diamond in the high-priest\u2019s\nbreastplate. In the first place, he notes that the diamond was very\ncostly, and that a large stone would have been needed to bear the\nname of Judah or that of any other tribe. He considers that a stone\nof the requisite size would have cost a hundred thousand gold crowns,\nand he asks, \u201cWhence could the poor Hebrews have obtained such a sum\nof money, and where could they have found such a diamond?\u201d He proceeds\nto give still another reason for doubting that the diamond was in the\nbreastplate,\u2014namely, that it would have marked too great a distinction\nbetween the tribes, the result being that the tribe to which the\ndiamond was assigned would have been puffed up with pride, while the\nothers would have been filled with hatred and envy, \u201cfor the diamond is\nthe Queen Gem of all the gems.\u201d[414]\n\nThe use of the breastplate to reveal the guilt of an offender is\ntestified to in a Samaritan version of the book of Joshua, which has\nbeen discovered by Dr. Moses Gaster, chief rabbi of the Spanish and\nPortuguese Jews in England. According to this version, Achan steals\na golden image from a heathen temple in Jericho. The high-priest\u2019s\nbreastplate reveals his guilt, for the stones lose their light and grow\ndim when his name is pronounced.\n\nMany conjectures have been made as to the origin of the breastplate\nwith the mystic Urim and Thummim enclosed within it. That an Egyptian\norigin should be sought seems most probable. A breast-ornament worn\nby the high-priest of Memphis, as figured in an Egyptian relief,\nconsists of twelve small balls, or crosses, intended to represent\nEgyptian hieroglyphics. As it cannot be determined that these figures\nwere cut from precious stones, the only definite connection with the\nHebrew ornament is the number of the figures; this suggests, but fails\nto prove, a common origin. The monuments show that the high-priest\nof Memphis wore this ornament as early as the fourth Dynasty, or,\napproximately, 4000 B.C.[415]\n\nOf the Urim and Thummim, the mysterious oracle of the ancient Hebrews,\nSt. Augustine (354-450 A.D.), after acknowledging the great difficulty\nof interpreting the meaning of the words and the character of\nthe oracle, adds that some believed the words to signify a single\nstone which changed color according as the answer was favorable or\nunfavorable, while the priest was entering the sanctuary; still he\nthought it possible that merely the letters of the words Urim and\nThummin were inscribed upon the breastplate.[416]\n\nAfter the capture of Jerusalem by Titus in 70 A.D., the treasures of\nthe temple were carried off to Rome, and we learn from Josephus that\nthe breastplate was deposited in the Temple of Concord, which had\nbeen erected by Vespasian. Here it is believed to have been at the\ntime of the sacking of Rome by the Vandals under Genseric, in 455,\nalthough Rev. C. W. King thinks it is not improbable that Alaric,\nking of the Visigoths, when he sacked Rome in 410 A.D., might have\nsecured this treasure.[417] However, the express statement of Procopius\nthat \u201cthe vessels of the Jews\u201d were carried through the streets of\nConstantinople, on the occasion of the Vandalic triumph of Belisarius,\nin 534, may be taken as a confirmation of the conjecture that the\nVandals had secured possession of the breastplate and its jewels.[418]\n\nIt must, however, be carefully noted that Procopius nowhere mentions\nthe breastplate and that it need not have been included among \u201cthe\nvessels of the Jews.\u201d It appears that this part of the spoils of\nBelisarius was placed by Justinian (483-565) in the sacristy of the\nchurch of St. Sophia. Some time later, the emperor is said to have\nheard of the saying of a certain Jew to the effect that, until the\ntreasures of the Temple were restored to Jerusalem, they would bring\nmisfortune upon any place where they might be kept.[419] If this story\nbe true, Justinian may have felt that the fate of Rome was a lesson for\nhim, and that Constantinople must be saved from a like disaster. Moved\nby such considerations, he is said to have sent the \u201csacred vessels\u201d to\nJerusalem, and they were placed in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre.\n\nThis brings us to the last two events which can be even plausibly\nconnected with the mystic twelve gems,\u2014namely, the capture and sack\nof Jerusalem by the Sassanian Persian king, Khusrau II, in 615, and\nthe overthrow of the Sassanian Empire by the Mohammedan Arabs, and the\ncapture and sack of Ctesiphon, in 637.[420] If we admit that Khusrau\ntook the sacred relics of the Temple with him to Persia, we may be\nreasonably sure that they were included among the spoils secured by the\nArab conquerors, although King, who has ingeniously endeavored to trace\nout the history of the breastplate jewels after the fall of Jerusalem\nin 70 A.D., believes that they may be still \u201cburied in some unknown\ntreasure-chamber of one of the old Persian capitals.\u201d\n\nA fact which has generally been overlooked by those who have embarked\non the sea of conjecture relative to the fate of the breastplate stones\nis that a large Jewish contingent, numbering some twenty-six thousand\nmen, formed part of the force with which the Sassanian Persians\ncaptured Jerusalem, and they might well lay claim to any Jewish\nvessels or jewels that may have been secured by the conquerors. In this\ncase, however, it is still probable that these precious objects fell\ninto the hands of the Mohammedans who captured Jerusalem in the same\nyear in which they took Ctesiphon.\n\nOne circumstance which may have contributed to the preservation of\nthese gems in their original form after they fell into the hands of\nthe Romans is the fact that each one was engraved with the name of\none of the Jewish tribes, the inscription being probably in the older\nform of Hebrew writing, which was used in the coinage even as late as\nthe last revolt in 137 A.D. Hence, recutting would have been necessary\nto fit them for use as ornaments, a process not easily accomplished,\nand involving a great loss of size. We must also bear in mind that\nthe intrinsic value of the gems may not have been so great as many\nsuppose, since all of them were probably of the less perfect forms of\nthe precious and semi-precious varieties. It is very likely that the\nenthusiastic statements of Josephus in this connection were dictated\nby national pride, or arose from the tendency to exaggeration so\ncommon among the Oriental writers. Certainly, if the breastplate known\nto Josephus was made not long after the return of the Jews from the\nBabylonian Captivity, their financial resources at the time of its\nfabrication were quite restricted.\n\nAdmitting as a possibility that the Arabs may have secured possession\nof the breastplate, how would they have regarded it? The heroes of the\nOld Testament, and especially Moses, were such sacred personalities in\nthe eyes of Mohammedans that this relic would have been as precious\nfor them as for us. However, the victorious Arabs who overran the\nSassanian Empire, although filled with religious zeal, were no students\nof arch\u00e6ology, and would have been quite unable to decipher the\nstrange characters engraved on the stones. They would most probably\nhave supposed them to be Persian characters, and would, therefore, have\nvalued these stones no higher than others in the Persian treasure.\nThis can serve as an explanation of the fact that no allusion to the\nbreastplate with its adornment can be found in the works of those\nMohammedan writers, such as Tabari, who treat of the overthrow of the\nSassanian Empire. We may be sure that the Persians themselves would\nhave accorded no special honor to objects connected with the Hebrew\nreligion, since their own Zoroastrian faith had no connection with it.\n\nIn 628, not long before the date of the Arab invasion, the most\nprecious relic of Christendom, the cross discovered by Helena, mother\nof Constantine the Great, and believed to be the very cross on which\nChrist died, was surrendered to the Greek Emperor Heraclius by Kobad\nII, son of Khusrau II, on the conclusion of a treaty of peace between\nthe Eastern and Sassanian Empires. This cross was one of the sacred\nobjects borne away to Persia from Jerusalem by Khusrau in 615 A.D.\nIt is said to have been guarded carefully through the influence of\nSira, Khusrau\u2019s Christian wife. There is a bare possibility that\nother objects of religious veneration, taken from Jerusalem, may have\nbeen given up by the Persians at the same time, and that the unique\ncharacter of the most important relic so overshadowed all others that\nhistorians have failed to note the fact. The cross was restored to\nJerusalem by Heraclius in 629, only to fall into the hands of the\nMohammedans when that city was taken by the Arabs under Omar, in 637.\nHence, if the jewelled breastplate had also been surrendered by Kobad,\nit would probably have shared the same fate.\n\n[Illustration: SILVER CROSS WITH QUARTZ CAT\u2019S EYE.\n\nRussian, sixteenth century. Collection of Mrs. Henry Draper.]\n\n[Illustration: SPECIMENS OF CHIASTOLITE (LAPIS CRUCIFER). (See page\n271.)\n\nFrom the \u201cMetallotheca Vaticana\u201d of Mercatus, Rome, 1719, p. 238. In\nthe author\u2019s library.]\n\nWe have here a wide field for conjecture,\u2014but, unfortunately,\nnothing more. Still, in the absence of any definite and trustworthy\ninformation, there is a kind of romantic interest in viewing the\nvarious possible relations of the mystery surrounding the fate of the\nmost precious gems, historically at least, that have ever existed.\nMore especially is this interest justified in the case of all who are\ndisposed to prize gems and jewels for their symbolic significance, for,\nas we have shown, this significance, as far as concerns natal stones\nand the spiritual interpretation of the qualities of the heart and\nsoul symbolized by the color and character of the principal precious\nand semi-precious stones, has its root in the veneration felt by early\nChristian writers, beginning with the author of the Apocalypse, for\nthe unforgotten and unforgettable gems that were worn by the Hebrew\nhigh-priest.\n\nA rather ingenious utilization of the reputed powers of Aaron\u2019s\nbreastplate comes to us in a book printed in Portland, Maine.[421] The\nwriter assumes that the Urim and Thummim enclosed in the folds of the\nbreastplate consisted of twelve stones, duplicates of those engraved\nwith the names of the tribes, and so disposed that, when they were\nshaken to and fro and then allowed to come to rest, three of them\nwould become visible through an aperture in the ephod just beneath\nthe rows of set stones. The signification of the oracle is given by\nthe various combinations of color offered by the three stones that\nreveal themselves; to each combination a prearranged meaning is given.\nThat anything of the kind could have been true of the original Urim\nand Thummim is scarcely worthy the trouble of refutation, but the\npractical result of this modern experiment is a clever oracle which\nwill probably enjoy a certain vogue.\n\nFor those who, with the late lamented Lieutenant Totten, see in the\ntribes of Manasseh and Ephraim the Anglo-Saxons of England and the\nUnited States, and who look upon George V as the king who sits upon the\nthrone of David, these symbolical stones of the breastplate acquire an\nadded significance. While not pretending to be able to follow all the\nintricate and certainly most ingenious and interesting speculations\nof this school of Biblical exegesis, we cannot help expressing some\nastonishment that Ephraim should be thought to prefigure England and\nManasseh the United States, instead of _vice versa_. In Gen. xlviii,\n17-20, the text more especially referred to in these speculations,\nJacob\u2019s blessing is bestowed upon Ephraim, in spite of Joseph\u2019s protest\nthat it should go to the _eldest_ son, Manasseh. To this protest Jacob\nanswers: \u201cI know it, my son, I know it: he also [Manasseh] shall become\na people, and he also shall be great: but truly his younger brother\nshall be greater than he, and his seed shall become a multitude of\nnations.\u201d Certainly the very composite population of the United States\nperfectly merits this description. As a general rule, the Hebrews, when\nusing the names Ephraim and Manasseh as tribal designations, maintained\nthe twelve-fold division of the people, by substituting these tribes\nfor Joseph and by dropping the name of Levi from the list, the tribe of\nLevi being assigned as priests to the care of the sanctuary, and not\nparticipating in the division of the Land of Promise.\n\nIn the Midrash Bemidbar, the Rabbinical commentary on Numbers, the\ntribes are given in their order, with the stone appropriate to each\nand the color of the tribal standard pitched in the desert camp, this\ncolor corresponding in each, case with that of the tribal stone.\nThis list represents a tradition dating back to at least the twelfth\ncentury and possibly much earlier than that; hence its value should\nnot be underestimated, although we may not accept it without some\nreserves.[422]\n\n  Odem      Reuben    Red\n  Pitdah    Simeon    Green\n  Bareketh  Levi      White, black and red\n  Jophek    Judah     Sky-blue\n  Sappir    Issachar  Black (like stibium)\n  Yahalom   Zebulun   White\n  Leshem    Dan       Sapphire-color\n  Shebo     Gad       Gray\n  Ahlamah   Naphtali  Wine-color\n  Tarshish  Assher    Pearl-color (?)\n  Shoham    Joseph    Very black\n  Yashpheh  Benjamin  Colors of all the stones\n\nIn the attempt to determine the identity of the stones enumerated\nin Exodus xxviii and xxxix, as adorning the breastplate of the\nhigh-priest, we must bear in mind that this \u201cbreastplate of Aaron\u201d\nand the one described by Josephus, and brought by Titus to Rome after\nthe capture of Jerusalem in 70 A.D., are in all probability entirely\ndistinct objects. The former, if it ever existed, except in the ideal\nworld of the authors of the Priestly Codex, must have been composed\nof the stones known to and used by the Egyptians of the thirteenth\nor fourteenth century, B.C., some of them being, perhaps, set in the\n\u201cjewels of gold and jewels of silver\u201d borrowed by the Israelites from\nthe Egyptians just before the Exodus; on the other hand, the most\ntrustworthy indications regarding the stones of the breastplate of\nthe Second Temple, made perhaps in the fifth century B.C., should be\nsought in the early Greek and Latin versions of the Old Testament, and\nin the treatise on precious stones by Theophrastus, who wrote about 300\nB.C. The Natural History of Pliny, that great storehouse of ancient\nknowledge, and other early writers, may also be used with profit.\n\n[Illustration: TITLE PAGE OF THE EDITION OF MARBODUS ON PRECIOUS\nSTONES, PUBLISHED IN COLOGNE, 1539.\n\nShows the figure of the High-priest and the names and tribal\nattributions of twelve stones of the Breastplate.]\n\nI. Odem. [\u05d0\u05b9\u05d3\u05b6\u05dd.] The etymology of this word clearly indicates that\nwe have to do with a red stone, most probably the carnelian. We know\nthat in ancient Egypt hieroglyphic texts from the Book of the Dead were\nengraved upon amulets made from this stone, and it was also used for\nearly Babylonian cylinders. Fine specimens of carnelian were obtained\nfrom Arabia. The Greek Septuagint and the Latin Vulgate, as well as\nJosephus, in the \u201cWars of the Jews\u201d (V, 5, 7), and Epiphanius, all\ntranslate _sardius_, the ancient designation of carnelian; in his\n\u201cAntiquities,\u201d however, Josephus renders _odem_ by \u201csardonyx.\u201d The\nEgyptian word _chenem_ was used to designate red stones, and seems to\nhave been applied indifferently to red jasper and red feldspar as well\nas to carnelian; indeed, the first-named material was more freely used\nin early Egyptian work than the carnelian. It is, therefore, probable\nthat in Mosaic times _odem_ signified red jasper, while for the fifth\ncentury B.C. \u201ccarnelian\u201d would be the better rendering. This modern\nname of the _sardius_, signifying the \u201cflesh-colored\u201d stone, first\nappears in the Latin translation of a treatise by Luca ben Costa, who\nwrote in the tenth century A.D. The name of Reuben is said to have been\nengraved on the _odem_ stone, which occupied the first place on the\nbreastplate.\n\nII. Pi\u1e6ddah. [\u05e4\u05b7\u05bc\u05d8\u05b0\u05d3\u05b8\u05d4.] There seems to be little doubt that this is the\n_topazius_ of ancient writers, which usually signified our chrysolite,\nor peridot, not our topaz; for Pliny and his successors describe the\ntopazius as a stone of a greenish hue. A legend related by Pliny gives\nas the place of origin an island in the Red Sea, called Topazos, from\n_topazein_, \u201cto conjecture,\u201d because it was difficult to find. However,\nthe Hebrew _pi\u1e6ddah_ appears to have been derived from the Sanskrit\n_pi\u1e6da_, \u201cyellow,\u201d and should, therefore, have originally signified\na yellow stone, perhaps our topaz. W. M. Flinders Petrie, probably\ninfluenced by this Sanskrit etymology, sees in it the yellow serpentine\nused in ancient Egypt. If, nevertheless, we admit that a light green\nstone occupied the second place on the Mosaic breastplate, it was\nperhaps the light green serpentine. This was called _meh_ in Egyptian,\nand was often used for amulets. In the case of the later breastplate we\nmay substitute the peridot. On this second stone was engraved the name\nSimeon.\n\nIII. Bareketh. [\u05d1\u05b8\u05bc\u05e8\u05b6\u05e7\u05b6\u05ea.] Here the Septuagint, Josephus, and the\nVulgate agree in translating _smaragdus_, and as we know that emerald\nmines were worked at Mount Zabarah, in Nubia, before the beginning\nof our era, and that the emerald was known and used in Egypt, there\ndoes not seem to be any reason for rejecting the usual translation\n\u201cemerald.\u201d Still it must be admitted that _smaragdus_ often designates\nother green stones than the emerald. The suggestion has been made\n(by Myers and Petrie) that the passage in Revelation iv, 3, where\nthe rainbow is likened to the _smaragdus_, indicates that the writer\nused this name for rock-crystal; but this conjecture is scarcely\nsatisfactory, since it confuses the prismatic effects of light which\nhas traversed the crystal with the crystal itself. There can be little\ndoubt that a stone of brilliant coloration, like the emerald, not a\ncolorless one, like rock-crystal, would be used as a simile of the\nrainbow. Whether the Mosaic breastplate already contained the emerald\nis another question, and it seems rather more likely that green\nfeldspar, freely used in ancient Egypt for amulets, and known as _uat_,\nwas the third stone of the proto-breastplate. The Authorized Version\nmakes \u201cthe carbuncle\u201d the third instead of the fourth stone. Upon the\n_bereketh_ was engraved the name Levi.\n\nIV. Nophek. [\u05e0\u05b9\u05e4\u05b6\u05da\u05bc.] This name is rendered \u1f04\u03bd\u03b8\u03c1\u03b1\u03be by the Septuagint\nand Josephus, and \u201ccarbunculus\u201d by the Vulgate. This designation,\nsignifying literally \u201ca glowing coal,\u201d was used for certain stones\ndistinguished by their peculiarly brilliant red color, such as the ruby\nand certain fine garnets. While it is quite possible that the Oriental\nruby may have been in the breastplate seen by Josephus, it is almost\ncertain that it could not have been in the original breastplate of\nMosaic times, since there is absolutely no proof that this stone was\nknown in ancient Egypt. Hence we are inclined to believe that in the\nthirteenth century B.C. the name _nophek_ designated the almandine\ngarnet, or some similar variety of that stone. The Authorized Version\nhas \u201cemerald\u201d here instead of in the third place. On this fourth stone\nof the breastplate was engraved the tribal name of Judah.\n\n[Illustration: CROSS, ATTACHED AS PENDANT TO THE CROWN OF THE GOTHIC\nKING RECCESVINTHUS (649-672 A.D.).\n\nForming part of the treasure discovered in 1858 at Guarrazar in Spain.\nNow in Mus\u00e9e de Cluny, Paris. The cross proper is set with fine\nsapphires cut en cabochon and eight large pearls. Natural size.]\n\nV. Sappir. [\u05e1\u05b7\u05e4\u05b4\u05bc\u05d9\u05e8] This is rendered _sapphirus_ in all the old\nversions.[423] The stone cannot have been our sapphire, for both\nTheophrastus and Pliny describe the _sapphirus_ as a stone with golden\nspots, thus showing that they meant the lapis-lazuli, which is often\nspotted with particles of pyrites having a golden sheen. This stone\nwas named _chesbet_ by the Egyptians, and was highly prized by them, a\nquantity of lapis-lazuli often appearing as an important item in the\nlists of tribute paid to Egypt and among the gifts sent by Babylonia\nto the Egyptian monarchs, and obtained from the oldest mines in the\nworld. These were worked at a period 4000 B.C. and still are worked\nto this day. From this material amulets and figures were made, many\nof which have been preserved for us, and the Egyptian high-priest\nis said to have worn, suspended from his neck, an image of Mat, the\nGoddess of Truth, made of lapis-lazuli. The name is composed of the\nLatin _lapis_, \u201ca stone,\u201d and _lajuward_, the name of the stone in\nPersian. From this latter word is also derived our \u201cazure.\u201d In ancient\ntimes the lapis-lazuli was the blue stone _par excellence_, because\nof its beautiful color and the valuable ultramarine dye derived from\nit. Although Pliny writes (xxxvii, 39) that this stone was too soft\nfor engraving, this fact need not have prevented its use in the\nbreastplate, since the stones set therein were not intended for use as\nseals and hence were not subjected to any wear. In this connection,\nhowever, it is somewhat strange that the Hebrew word _sappir_ appears\nto indicate a stone especially adapted to receive inscriptions. The\nfact that the lapis-lazuli was greatly esteemed in ancient Egypt,\nand was still much used as an ornamental stone in Greek and Roman\ntimes, renders it probable that it was set not only in the original\nbreastplate, but also in that of a later age. Upon this fifth stone the\nname Issachar was inscribed.\n\nVI. Yahalom. [\u05d9\u05b7\u05d4\u05b2\u05dc\u05b9\u05dd] The sixth stone of the Septuagint version and\nof Josephus is the \u1f34\u03b1\u03c3\u03c0\u03b9\u03c2, probably green jasper, or jade, and this\nhas been assumed to show that in the original Hebrew text _yashpheh_\nwas the sixth stone, in place of _yahalom_. The twelfth stone of the\nGreek version is the \u1f40\u03bd\u03cd\u03c7\u03b9\u03bf\u03bd or \u201conyx,\u201d and this seems to be the most\nprobable equivalent of the Hebrew _yahalom_. Some Hebrew sources,\nhowever, render it \u201cdiamond,\u201d and Luther in his German version of the\nBible, as well as our own Authorized Version, translates it thus. This\nrendering is based upon the derivation of the word _yahalom_ from a\nverb meaning \u201cto smite,\u201d thus making the name of the stone signify\n\u201cthe smiter,\u201d a designation not inappropriate for the diamond, which,\nbecause of its extreme hardness, has the power to cut, or \u201csmite,\u201d\nall other stones. However, for this purpose the emery corundum, or\nsmiris-point _shamir_, mentioned in Zechariah, was most likely used.\nThe diamond was certainly not used in this way in very early times,\nalthough it is possible that the stone was employed in engraving in\nthe fifth century B.C. These considerations induce us to prefer the\ntraditional interpretation of _yahalom_, and translate it \u201conyx.\u201d In\nthis case \u201cthe smiter\u201d could be explained as denoting the use of the\nengraved onyx for sealing, as the engraved figure or letters were\nstruck upon some soft material to make an impression. Zebulun was the\ntribal name inscribed on the _yahalom_.\n\nVII. Leshem. [\u05dc\u05b6\u05e9\u05b6\u05c1\u05dd] No stone in the breastplate is more difficult\nto determine than this one. The Septuagint, Josephus, and the Vulgate\nall translate _ligurius_, an appellation sometimes applied to amber,\na substance quite unfitted for use in the breastplate among the other\nengraved stones. Probably the original significance of _ligurius_ was\namber, this name being used because Liguria, in northern Italy, was\nthe chief source of supply for Greece and the Orient; amber which had\nbeen gathered on the shores of the Baltic being brought by traders to\nLiguria and forwarded thence to other lands. As, however, the Greeks\nhad another name for amber, _electron_, the name _ligurion_ appears to\nhave been applied later to a variety of the jacinth somewhat resembling\namber in color, and then to other varieties of the same stone. The\noriginal form of the name was evidently _ligurion_, which was later\nchanged to _lyncurion_, and was then explained as meaning the urine\nof the lynx (from \u03bb\u03cd\u03b3\u03be, and \u03bf\u1f56\u03c1\u03bf\u03bd, urine). This fanciful etymology\ngave rise to the story that the _ligurios_, or rather _lyncurius_,\nwas the solidified urine of the lynx. The term _lyncurion_, as used\nby Theophrastus, may possibly have included the sapphire as well\nas the jacinth, since he lays especial stress upon the coldness of\nthis substance, a quality characteristic of the sapphire, and also\nof the still denser jacinth. Hence, it appears that we have, even in\nthe name _ligurius_, some justification for accepting the rendering\n_hyacinthus_, suggested by the list of foundation stones in Revelation\nxxi, 20, and already proposed by Epiphanius, Bishop of Constantia,\nabout 400 A.D. Whether _hyacinthus_ should be rendered \u201csapphire\u201d\nor \u201cjacinth\u201d is not easy to determine, as this name seems to have\nbeen used indifferently for both stones; with the Arabs, under the\nform _yakut_, it became a generic term for all the varieties of the\ncorundum gems. The sapphire was engraved in Greek and Roman times and\nis, perhaps, the _leshem_ stone of the Second Temple. For the Mosaic\nbreastplate we are forced to seek for some stone known in ancient\nEgypt, where the sapphire does not seem to have been introduced at\nan early date. If we could accept the suggestion of Brugsch that the\nEgyptian _neshem_ stone, reputed to have wonderful magic virtues, was\nthe same as the Hebrew _leshem_, a brown agate would have been the\nseventh stone in the original breastplate, as Wendel gives very strong\nreasons for rendering _neshem_ in this way. The color designations were\nvery freely used in Egyptian, and therefore a reddish or a yellowish\nbrown agate may have been used. The _leshem_ bore the tribal name\nJoseph.\n\nVIII. Shebo. [\u05e9\u05b0\u05c1\u05d1\u05d5\u05b9.] This is uniformly rendered in the ancient\nversions and in Josephus by \u201cagate,\u201d a composite stone highly esteemed\nin very ancient times, and hence worthy of a place among the stones of\nthe breastplate; at a later period, as Pliny notes (xxxvii, 54), it\nbecame so common that it was but little regarded. Nevertheless the fact\nthat the various kinds of agates were believed to have many talismanic\nand therapeutic virtues, the great variety of coloration observable in\nthese stones, and the curious figures and markings displayed by many of\nthem, served to make them favorite objects. The etymology of the word\n_shebo_ suggests that it designated more especially a banded agate,\nand that set in the proto-breastplate was most probably one with gray\nand white bands, as this variety often appears in Egyptian work. There\nwould have been no lack of contrast between this stone and the reddish\nor yellowish-brown agate, of uniform color, which may have occupied the\nseventh place. For the later breastplate we may choose any one of the\nmany kinds of banded agate. This stone had engraved upon it the name\nBenjamin.\n\nIX. A\u1e25lamah. [\u05d0\u05b7\u05d7\u05b0\u05dc\u05b8\u05de\u05b8\u05d4.] As to this stone also, all the authorities\nare in agreement, and render _a\u1e25lamah_ by \u201camethyst.\u201d This was not,\nhowever, the Oriental amethyst, a variety of corundum, but a dark\nblue or purple variety of quartz. Both Arabia and Syria furnished\na supply of amethysts. The Hebrew name shows that this stone was\nbelieved to possess the virtue of inducing dreams and visions\n(cf. _halom_\u2014\u201cdream\u201d), while, as is well known, the Greek name\ncharacterizes it as an enemy or preventive of inebriety. The amethyst\nwas known in ancient Egypt and probably was named _hemag_. In the\nBook of the Dead a heart made of _hemag_ is mentioned, and two such\nheart-shaped amulets of amethyst are preserved in the Boulaq Museum. As\nthe amethyst retained its repute as a stone of beauty and power through\nthe Greek and Roman periods, we may safely assert that it was set in\nboth the first and second breastplates. Upon the _a\u1e25lamah_ was engraved\nthe name Dan.\n\nX. Tarshish. [\u05ea\u05b7\u05e8\u05e9\u05b4\u05c1\u05d9\u05e9\u05c1.] The Septuagint renders this word\n\u201cchrysolite,\u201d where it is used in the description of the breastplate,\nas does Josephus also. In the Authorized Version, \u201cberyl\u201d is the\nrendering. We have already stated that the topaz of the ancients was\nusually our chrysolite, or peridot, and the name \u201cchrysolite\u201d appears\nto have been used to designate our topaz. This is indeed indicated\nby the literal meaning of the word, \u201cgolden-stone.\u201d The _tarshish_\nreceived its name from Tartessus, in Spain, an important commercial\nstation of the Ph\u0153nicians. The stone derived from this source was not,\nof course, our Oriental topaz, a variety of corundum, nor was it\nthe true topaz; neither is it at all likely that the name _tarshish_\nsignified, at least originally, the genuine topaz; most probably it\ndenoted a variety of quartz which occurs in Spain. This is originally\nblack, but is decolorized by heating to a deep brown, and if the\nheating be prolonged the stone becomes paler and eventually entirely\ntransparent. The ancients were familiar with this property. In ancient\nEgyptian records a stone called _thehen_ is frequently mentioned as a\nmaterial from which amulets were made. This Egyptian name signified\nprimarily a \u201cyellow stone,\u201d and might designate either the topaz or\nthe yellow jasper, known and used in Egypt at a very early date; the\ntopaz was probably not known there earlier than 500 or 600 B.C. Hence,\nin spite of the unquestionable difficulty offered by the geographical\nname _tarshish_, which might seem to confine us to a Spanish origin for\nthe stone, the probabilities favor the selection of the yellow jasper\nas the tenth gem in Aaron\u2019s breastplate. For that made with pious zeal\nby those who labored to renew the glories of the Old Jerusalem, we\nchoose the topaz,\u2014possibly, indeed, a fine specimen of the genuine\ntopaz,\u2014for whatever the quality of the yellow stone originally brought\nfrom Tartessus, the name may well have been applied to the genuine\ntopaz when that stone became known to the Jews, either in Babylonia, or\nafter their return to Palestine. The _tarshish_ was engraved with the\nname Naphtali.\n\nXI. Shoham. [\u05e9\u05b9\u05c1\u05d4\u05b7\u05dd.] The Septuagint translates \u201cberyl,\u201d but in our\nAuthorized Version and in that used by Roman Catholics, the so-called\nDouai Version, the word is invariably rendered \u201conyx.\u201d Diodorus\nSiculus and Dionysius Periegetes, writing in the first century B.C.,\nare the first classical authors who use the name beryl. While this\nname does not appear in the treatise of Theophrastus, he evidently\nincludes the beryl among his _smaragdi_; indeed, the true emerald is\nsimply a variety of the beryl, and owes its beautiful coloration to\na slight admixture of chromium. The finest beryls were brought from\nIndia. Besides the specimen set in the breastplate, the high-priest\nwore on his shoulders two _shoham_ stones, each engraved with the\nnames of six of the tribes. After carefully weighing the evidence, we\nbelieve that the stones worn by the high-priest of the Second Temple\nwere aquamarines (beryls). In our endeavor to determine the _shoham_\nstones used in Mosaic times, we have no very definite information to\nguide us; on the whole, the conjecture of J. L. Myers, that they were\nmalachites, seems to have much in its favor, for this material was\nknown to the ancient Egyptians and appears to have been often used\nfor amulets. The Egyptian name for malachite, as well as for other\ngreen stones, was _mafek_, and a ring of _mafek_ is mentioned in an\nEgyptian text; undoubtedly, at a later period in Egyptian history,\n_mafek_ may also have denoted the beryl. In view of the fact that the\nturquoise was unquestionably known to the Egyptians at a very early\ndate, the supply being derived from mines in the Sinai Peninsula,\nwhich were rediscovered by Macdonald, we might be tempted to suggest\nthat the _shoham_ stones were turquoises. The light blue or blue-green\nof the specimens of this stone found on Mt. Sinai would make an even\nbetter contrast with the neighboring jade than would the bright green\nmalachite. On the shoham of the breastplate the name Gad was engraved.\n\nXII. Yashpheh. [\u05d9\u05b8\u05e9\u05b0\u05c1\u05e4\u05b6\u05d4.] If, as appears almost certain, this name\noriginally occupied the sixth place in the original Hebrew text, all\nthe ancient versions agree in translating it \u201cjasper.\u201d An Assyrian\nform of the name was _yashpu_, as is shown by the Tell el Amarna\nletters in the cuneiform writing dating from not long before the\nExodus. Of all the so-called jaspers none were so highly valued as\nthose of a green color. The talismanic and therapeutic qualities of\nthe \u201cgreen jaspers\u201d are often noted by ancient writers, and, according\nto Galen, these stones were recommended for remedial use by Egyptian\nwriters on medicine. Abel Remusat, the great French Orientalist,\nwriting in 1820, was one of the first to see in the _yashpheh_ of\nthe Hebrews and in the green jasper of the Greeks and Romans, the\nmaterial jade (nephrite or jadeite), the Chinese _yu_-stone. These\nminerals were used both in the Old and the New World, and were\neverywhere believed to possess wonderful virtues. Very likely the\npowers supposed to characterize jade were later attributed to green\njasper, but there is every reason to suppose that the true jade was\nalways more highly prized than its jasper substitute, for it was much\nrarer, and was easily distinguishable, by its translucency, from jasper\nof a similar color. Until quite recently only Turkestan, Burma and\nNew Zealand have supplied jade and most of that used in other lands\ncame from prehistoric relics or from sources unknown to us. It seems\nhighly probable that the _yashpheh_ which adorned the breastplate\nmade for Aaron was a piece of nephrite or jadeite; possibly in the\nlater breastplate green jasper may have been employed. This stone was\ninscribed with the tribal name Assher.\n\nIn the following lists of the precious and semi-precious stones\ncontained in the earlier and later breastplates, the writer does not\nclaim to have finally solved the problem presented by the Hebrew\naccounts of the high-priest\u2019s adornment, but he hopes that the\ndistinction established here between the Mosaic breastplate and that\nof the Second Temple, separated from each other by an interval of eight\ncenturies, may serve to clear up some of the difficulties encountered\nin the treatment of this subject.\n\n  The Breastplate of Aaron.    The Breastplate of the Second Temple.\n\n     I  Red jasper               Carnelian\n    II  Light-green serpentine   Peridot\n   III  Green feldspar           Emerald\n    IV  Almandine garnet         Ruby\n     V  Lapis-lazuli             Lapis-lazuli\n    VI  Onyx                     Onyx\n   VII  Brown agate              Sapphire or jacinth\n  VIII  Banded agate             Banded agate\n    IX  Amethyst                 Amethyst\n     X  Yellow jasper            Topaz\n    XI  Malachite                Beryl\n   XII  Green jasper, or jade    Green jasper, or jade\n\nThe following lists show the variations of the different ancient\nauthorities in regard to the names of the gems in the breastplate:\n\n               Septuagint.  Josephus     Vulgate      Authorized  Revised\n     Hebrew.    (Greek)     (Greek)      (Latin)       Version    Version\n                 About       About        About       1611 A.D. 1884 A.D.\n                250 B.C.    90 A.D.      400 A.D.\n\n  1  Odem      Sardion      Sardonyx     Sardius      Sardius     Sardius\n                                                                 (or Ruby)\n\n  2  Pi\u1e6ddah    Topazion     Topazos      Topazius     Topaz       Topaz\n\n  3  Bare\u1e33eth  Smaragdos    Smaragdos    Smaragdus    Carbuncle  Carbuncle\n                                                              (or Emerald)\n\n  4  Nophak    Anthrax      Anthrax      Carbunculus  Emerald     Emerald\n                                                            (or Carbuncle)\n\n  5  Sappir    Sappheiros   Iaspis       Sapphirius   Sapphire    Sapphire\n\n  6  Yahalom   Iaspis       Sappheiros   Jaspis       Diamond     Diamond\n                                                              (or Sardonyx)\n\n  7  Leshem    Ligurion     Liguros      Ligurius     Ligure      Jacinth\n                                                                (or Amber)\n\n  8  Shebo     Achat\u00eas      Amethystos   Achat\u00eas      Agate       Agate\n\n  9  A\u1e25lamah   Amethystos   Achat\u00eas      Amethystus   Amethyst    Amethyst\n\n 10  Tarshish  Chrysolithos Chrysolithos Chrysolithus Beryl       Beryl\n                                                            (or Chalcedony)\n\n 11  Shoham    B\u00earyllion    Onyx         Onychinus    Onyx        Onyx\n                                                                (or Beryl)\n\n 12  Yashpheh  Onychion     B\u00earyllos     B\u00earyllus     Jasper      Jasper\n\nThe high-priest\u2019s breastplate, as described in Hebrew tradition, was\nregarded by the Jews with peculiar reverence, and the stones set in\nit were believed to be emblematic of many things. It is, therefore,\nquite natural that these stones are described in the book of Revelation\nas the foundation stones of the New Jerusalem. The names are in some\ncases not identical with those given in Exodus, but this may arise from\nvarious renderings of the Hebrew names in the Targums or in the Greek\nversions.\n\nThe text in Revelation (xxi, 9-21) is as follows:\n\n And there came unto me one of the seven angels which had the seven\n vials full of the seven last plagues, and talked with me, saying, Come\n hither, I will show thee the bride, the Lamb\u2019s wife:\n\n And he carried me away in the spirit to a great and high mountain,\n and showed me that great city, the holy Jerusalem, descending out of\n heaven from God.\n\n Having the glory of God: and her light was like unto a stone most\n precious, even like a jasper-stone, clear as crystal;\n\n And had a wall great and high, and had twelve gates, and at the gates\n twelve angels, and names written thereon, which are the names of the\n twelve tribes of the children of Israel:\n\n On the east, three gates; on the north, three gates; on the south,\n three gates; and on the west, three gates.\n\n And the wall of the city had twelve foundations, and in them the names\n of the twelve apostles of the Lamb.\n\n And he that talked with me had a golden reed to measure the city, and\n the gates thereof, and the wall thereof.\n\n And the city lieth foursquare, and the length is as large as the\n breadth: and he measured the city with the reed, twelve thousand\n furlongs. The length and the breadth and the height of it are equal.\n\n And he measured the wall thereof, an hundred and forty and four\n cubits, according to the measure of a man, that is, of the angel.\n\n And the building of the wall of it was of jasper: and the city was\n pure gold, like unto clear glass.\n\n And the foundations of the wall of the city were garnished with all\n manner of precious stones. The first foundation was jasper; the\n second, sapphire; the third, a chalcedony; the fourth, an emerald;\n\n The fifth, sardonyx; the sixth, sardius; the seventh, chrysolite; the\n eighth, beryl; the ninth, a topaz; the tenth, a chrysoprasus; the\n eleventh, a jacinth; the twelfth, an amethyst.\n\n And the twelve gates were twelve pearls; every several gate was of\n one pearl: and the street of the city was pure gold, as it were\n transparent glass.\n\nIt is easy to trace in this description the substitution of the\ntwelve apostles for the twelve tribes in connection with the precious\nstones enumerated, and, besides this, we also have the twelve angels,\nassociated at a later date with the months and the signs of the zodiac.\n\nOf the twelve foundation stones the Revelation of St. John expressly\nstates that they had \u201cin them the names of the twelve apostles of the\nLamb.\u201d The assignment of each stone to the respective apostle was\nmade in later times according to the order given in the lists of the\napostles contained in the so-called Synoptic Gospels, Matthew, Mark,\nand Luke. These lists are not quite identical\u2014Andrew, for instance,\nbeing placed second in Matthew and Luke, but fourth in Mark\u2014and the\nsame stone was not always assigned to a given apostle. Frequently\nthe list was modified by the addition of the apostle Paul, really\nthe thirteenth apostle. In this case he was usually given the second\nplace immediately after St. Peter, and to the brothers James and John,\nthe \u201cSons of Thunder,\u201d was assigned a single stone; in some later\narrangements St. Paul occupies the last place, after St. Matthias, who\nwas chosen to take the place of Judas Iscariot, and whose name as an\napostle first appears in the Acts.\n\nLISTS OF THE APOSTLES.\n\n  Gospel of          Gospel of         Gospel of\n  St. Matthew        St. Mark          St. Luke\n  x, 2-4.            iii, 16-19.       vi, 14-16.\n\n  Peter              Peter             Peter\n  Andrew             James             Andrew\n  James              John              James\n  John               Andrew            John\n  Philip             Philip            Philip\n  Bartholomew        Bartholomew       Bartholomew\n  Thomas             Matthew           Matthew\n  Matthew            Thomas            Thomas\n  James the Less     James the Less    James the Less\n  Thaddeus           Thaddeus          Simon Zelotes\n  Simon Zelotes      Simon Zelotes     Judas\n  Judas Iscariot     Judas Iscariot    Judas Iscariot\n\nThe passage in Revelation xxi, 19, 20, is not the only one in that book\ntreating of precious stones, for we read in chapter iv, 2, 3:\n\n And immediately I was in the Spirit: and, behold, a throne was set in\n heaven, and _one_ sat on the throne.\n\n And he that sat was to look upon like a jasper and a sardine stone:\n and _there was_ a rainbow round about the throne, in sight like unto\n an emerald.\n\nThe commentators, both ancient and modern, have given many different\nexplanations of the symbolic meaning of the similes employed here. Some\nhave seen in the two stones a type of the two judgments of the world,\nby fire and by water; others find that they signify the holiness of\nGod and his justice. Of the rainbow \u201clike unto an emerald,\u201d Alford\nsays we should not think it strange that the bow is green, instead of\nprismatic: \u201cthe _form_ is that of the covenant bow, the color even more\nrefreshing and more directly symbolizing grace and mercy.\u201d[424]\n\nThe significance of the twelve Apocalyptic gems is given by Rabanus\nMaurus, Archbishop of Mainz (786-856), in the following words:[425]\n\n In the jasper is figured the truth of faith; in the sapphire, the\n height of celestial hope; in the chalcedony, the flame of inner\n charity. In the emerald is expressed the strength of faith in\n adversity; in the sardonyx, the humility of the saints in spite of\n their virtues; in the sard, the venerable blood of the martyrs. In\n the chrysolite, indeed, is shown true spiritual preaching accompanied\n by miracles; in the beryl, the perfect operation of prophecy; in the\n topaz, the ardent contemplation of the prophecies. Lastly, in the\n chrysoprase is demonstrated the work of the blessed martyrs and their\n reward; in the hyacinth, the celestial rapture of the learned in their\n high thoughts and their humble descent to human things out of regard\n for the weak; in the amethyst, the constant thought of the heavenly\n kingdom in humble souls.\n\nThe origin of the foundation stones named in Revelation xxi, 19, 20,\nmay be found in the text, Isaiah liv, 11, 12, where we read:\n\n O thou afflicted, tossed with tempest, _and_ not comforted, behold, I\n will lay thy stones with fair colours, and lay thy foundations with\n sapphires.\n\n And I will make thy windows of agates, and thy gates of carbuncles,\n and all thy borders of pleasant stones.\n\nAs we see, only three stones are mentioned by name: the sapphire, the\ncarbuncle, and \u201cagates.\u201d This last rendering is quite doubtful, as the\nHebrew word (_kodkodim_) signifies shining or gleaming stones, and\ntheir use for windows indicates that they must have been transparent.\nIt is easy to understand that in later times the twelve stones of the\nbreastplate, dedicated to the twelve tribes of Israel, were used to\nfill out and complete the picture, following the indication given by\nthe general terms \u201cstones with fair colours\u201d and \u201cpleasant stones.\u201d\n\nIn commenting on this text Rabbi Johanan is quoted in the Babylonian\nTalmud as saying that God would bring jewels and pearls thirty ells\nsquare (twenty ells in height and ten in width) and would place them\non the gates of Jerusalem. There may be in this some reminiscence of\nthe Apocalyptic foundation stones. A sceptical disciple said to the\nRabbi, \u201cWe do not ever find a jewel as large as the egg of a dove.\u201d\nBut not long afterward, when this same disciple was sailing in a boat\non the sea, he saw angels sawing stones as immense as those described\nby Rabbi Johanan, and when he asked for what they were designed, the\nreply was, \u201cThe Holy One, blessed be He, will place them on the gates\nof Jerusalem.\u201d[426]\n\n\n\n\nIX\n\nBirth-Stones\n\n\nThe origin of the belief that to each month of the year a special stone\nwas dedicated, and that the stone of the month was endowed with a\npeculiar virtue for those born in that month and was their natal stone,\nmay be traced back to the writings of Josephus, in the first century\nof our era, and to those of St. Jerome, in the early part of the fifth\ncentury. Both these authors distinctly proclaim the connection between\nthe twelve stones of the high-priest\u2019s breastplate and the twelve\nmonths of the year, as well as the twelve zodiacal signs. Strange to\nsay, however, in spite of this early testimony, we have no instance of\nthe usage of wearing such stones as natal stones until a comparatively\nlate date; indeed, it appears that this custom originated in Poland\nsome time during the eighteenth century. The reason for this seems to\nhave been that the virtues attributed to each particular stone, more\nespecially the therapeutic virtues, rendered it necessary to recommend\nthe wearing of one or the other, according to the disease from which\nthe person was suffering, for his natal stone might not have the power\nto cure his particular ailment, or might not bring about the fulfilment\nof his dearest wish. In other words, the belief in the special virtues\nof the stone was paramount, and it was long before the mystic bond\nbetween the stone of the month and the person born in that month was\nfully realized.\n\nThe order in which the foundation stones of the New Jerusalem are given\nin the book of Revelation determined the succession of natal stones\nfor the months. The first stone was assigned to St. Peter and to the\nmonth of March, to the leader of the apostles and to the month of the\nspring equinox; the second to the month of April; the third to May,\netc. When, however, many centuries later,\u2014probably in Poland, as we\nhave stated,\u2014with the aid of the rabbis or the Hebrew gem traders,\nthe wearing of natal stones became usual, certain changes had been\nmade in this order and some stones not mentioned among those of the\nbreastplate, or of the New Jerusalem, were substituted for certain of\nthese,\u2014notably the turquoise for the month of December, the ruby for\nJuly, and the diamond for April. In modern times the turquoise has\nbecome the stone for July while the ruby has been assigned to December.\n\nThere is some evidence in favor of the theory that at the outset all\ntwelve stones were acquired by the same person and worn in turn, each\none during the respective month to which it was assigned, or during the\nascendancy of its zodiacal sign. The stone of the month was believed to\nexercise its therapeutic or talismanic virtue to the fullest extent at\nthat period. Perhaps the fact that this entailed a monthly change of\nornaments may rather have been a recommendation of the usage than the\nreverse.[427]\n\nIt seems highly probable that the development of the belief in natal\nstones that took place in Poland was due to the influence of the Jews\nwho settled in that country shortly before we have historic notice of\nthe use of the twelve stones for those born in the respective months.\nThe lively interest always felt by the Jews regarding the gems of the\nbreastplate, the many and various commentaries their learned men have\nwritten upon this subject, and the fact that the well-to-do among the\nchosen people have always carried with them in their wanderings many\nprecious stones, all this seems to make it likely that to the Jews\nshould be attributed the fashion of wearing natal stones.\n\nHowever, whether this conjecture be correct or erroneous, the fashion\nonce started became soon quite general and has as many votaries\nto-day as ever before. There can be no doubt that the owner of a\nring or ornament set with a natal stone is impressed with the idea\nof possessing something more intimately associated with his or her\npersonality than any other stone, however beautiful or costly it may\nbe. If it be objected that this is nothing but imagination due to\nsentiment, we must bear in mind that imagination is one of the most\npotent factors in our life; indeed, the great Napoleon is quoted as\nsaying that it ruled the world.\n\nProbably the very earliest text we have in which the stones of the\nbreastplate are positively associated with the months of the year is to\nbe found in the \u201cAntiquities of the Jews,\u201d by Flavius Josephus.[428]\nThis runs as follows:\n\n Moreover, the vestments of the high-priest being made of linen\n signifies the earth, the blue denotes the sky, being like lightning in\n its pomegranates, and resembling thunder in the noise of the bells.\n And as for the ephod, it showed that God had made the universe of four\n elements, and as for the gold interwoven in it, I suppose it related\n to the splendor by which all things are to be enlightened. He also\n appointed the breastplate to be placed in the middle of the ephod to\n resemble the earth, for that occupies the middle place in the world;\n and the girdle, which encompassed the high priest about, signifies\n the ocean, for that goes about everything. And the two sardonyxes\n that were in the clasps on the high-priest\u2019s shoulders, indicate\n to us the sun and the moon. And for the twelve stones, whether we\n understand by them the months, or the twelve signs of what the Greeks\n call the zodiac, we shall not be mistaken in their meaning. And for\n the cap, which was of a blue color, it seems to me to mean heaven, for\n otherwise the name of God would not have been inscribed upon it. That\n it was also adorned with a crown, and that of gold also, is because of\n the splendor with which God is pleased.\n\nThis passage was adapted by St. Jerome, three hundred years later, in\nhis letter to Fabiola,[429] and undoubtedly laid the foundation for the\nlater custom of wearing one of these stones as a natal or birth-stone\nfor a person born in a given month, or for an astral or zodiacal stone\nfor one born under a given zodiacal sign. As we see, both uses are\nindicated by the passage of Josephus. In the later centuries, as the\nbook of Revelation, which was generally less favored at the outset\nthan the other parts of the New Testament, became a subject of devout\nstudy, and a mine of mystical suggestions, the twelve foundation\nstones (Rev. xxi, 19) of the New Jerusalem largely took the place of\nthe stones of the breastplate. While this list of foundation stones is\nunquestionably based upon the much earlier list of the stones adorning\nAaron\u2019s breastplate, the ordering differs considerably and there are\nsome changes in the material; possibly many, if not all, of these\ndifferences may be due to textual errors or to a transcription from\nmemory.\n\nThat the foundation stones were inscribed with the names of the\napostles is expressly stated (Rev. xxi, 14), but it was not until the\neighth or ninth century that the commentators on Revelation busied\nthemselves with finding analogies between these stones and the\napostles. At the outset, the symbolism of the stones was looked upon\nfrom a purely religious standpoint. Few of the early fathers\u2014we may\nexcept Epiphanius\u2014thought or cared much for the stones themselves,\nor knew much of them; but, in time, their natural beauty became more\nand more highly developed as the lapidarian art demanded better cut\nand choicer material, their supposed virtues came to the fore, and\nthe symbolism was strengthened and emphasized by a reference to their\ninnate qualities and also to their peculiar powers. The fact that\nthis part of the tradition was rather of pagan than of Christian\norigin probably contributed to render it less attractive to the\nearly Christians, so that it was not until Christianity had become\npractically universal in the Greek and Roman world and the opposition\nto pagan traditions, as such, was weakened and, indeed, largely\nforgotten, that the virtues of the stones were made prominent, and\ncertain parts of these superstitions were retained, as were some of the\npagan ceremonies in the Christian religion.\n\nOne of the earliest writers to associate directly with the apostles the\nsymbolism of the gems given as foundation stones of the New Jerusalem\nby St. John in Revelation xxi, 19, is Andreas, bishop of C\u00e6sarea.\nThis author was at one time assigned by critics to the fifth century\nA.D.,[430] but more recent investigation has shown that he probably\nbelonged to the last half of the tenth century. His exposition reads as\nfollows:[431]\n\n The jasper, which like the emerald is of a greenish hue, probably\n signifies St. Peter, chief of the apostles, as one who so bore\n Christ\u2019s death in his inmost nature that his love for Him was always\n vigorous and fresh. By his fervent faith he has become our shepherd\n and leader.\n\n As the sapphire is likened to the heavens (from this stone is made a\n color popularly called lazur), I conceive it to mean St. Paul, since\n he was caught up to the third heaven, where his soul was firmly fixed.\n Thither he seeks to draw all those who may be obedient to him.\n\n The chalcedony was not inserted in the high-priest\u2019s breastplate, but\n instead the carbuncle, of which no mention is made here. It may well\n be, however, that the author designated the carbuncle by the name\n chalcedony. Andrew, then, can be likened to the carbuncle, since he\n was splendidly illumined by the fire of the Spirit.\n\n The emerald, which is of a green color, is nourished with oil, that\n its transparency and beauty may not change; we conceive this stone to\n signify John the Evangelist. He, indeed, soothed the souls dejected\n by sin with a divine oil, and by the grace of his excellent doctrine\n lends constant strength to our faith.\n\n By the sardonyx, showing with a certain transparency and purity the\n color of the human nail, we believe that James is denoted, seeing that\n he bore death for Christ before all others. This the nail by its color\n indicates, for it may be cut off without any sensible pain.\n\n The sardius with its tawny and translucent coloring suggests fire,\n and it possesses the virtue of healing tumors and wounds inflicted\n by iron; hence I consider that it designates the beauty of virtue\n characterizing the apostle Philip, for his virtue, animated by the\n fire of the Holy Spirit, cured the soul of the wounds inflicted by the\n wiles of the devil, and revived it.\n\n The chrysolite, gleaming with the splendor of gold, may symbolize\n Bartholomew, since he was illustrious for his divine preaching and his\n store of virtues.\n\n The beryl, imitating the colors of the sea and of the air, and not\n unlike the jacinth, seems to suggest the admirable Thomas, especially\n as he made a long journey by sea, and even reached the Indies, sent by\n God to preach salvation to the peoples of that region.\n\n The topaz, which is of a ruddy color, resembling somewhat the\n carbuncle, stops the discharge of the milky fluid with which those\n having eye-disease suffer. This seems to denote Matthew, for he was\n animated by a divine zeal, and, his blood being fired because of\n Christ, he was found worthy to enlighten by his Gospel those whose\n heart was blinded, that they might like new-born children drink of the\n milk of the faith.\n\n The chrysoprase, more brightly tinged with a golden hue than gold\n itself, symbolizes St. Thadd\u00e6us; the gold (_chrysos_) symbolizing the\n kingdom of Christ, and the _prassius_, Christ\u2019s death, both of which\n he preached to Abgar, King of Edessa.\n\n The jacinth, which is of a celestial hue, signifies Simon Zelotes,\n zealous for the gifts and grace of Christ and endowed with a celestial\n prudence.\n\n By the amethyst, which shows to the onlooker a fiery aspect, is\n signified Matthias, who in the gift of tongues was so filled with\n celestial fire and with fervent zeal to serve and please God, who had\n chosen him, that he was found worthy to take the place of the apostate\n Judas.\n\nSome theologians were opposed to the assignment of the foundation\nstones to the apostles, for they held that only Christ himself could be\nregarded as the foundation of his Church. Hence the symbolism of these\nstones was made to apply to Christ alone, the color of the stone often\nguiding the commentator in his choice of ideas denoted by the different\ngems. Thus, one writer, applying all the meanings to Christ, finds that\nthe greenish Jasper denotes satisfaction; the sky-blue Sapphire, the\nsoul; the bright-red Chalcedony, zeal for truth; the transparent green\nEmerald, kindness and goodness; the nail-colored Sardonyx, the strength\nof spiritual life; the red Sardius, readiness to shed His blood for the\nChurch; the yellow Chrysolite, the excellence of His divine nature;\nthe sea-green Beryl, moderation and the control of the passions;\nthe glass-green Topaz (chrysolite?), uprightness; the harsh-colored\nChrysoprase, sternness towards sinners; the violet or purple Jacinth,\nroyal dignity, and, lastly, the purple Amethyst, with a touch of red,\nperfection.[432]\n\nAndreas of C\u00e6sarea freely recognizes his indebtedness to the much more\nancient source, St. Epiphanius, bishop of Constantia in Cyprus, who\ndied in 402 A.D., and who wrote a short but very valuable treatise on\nthe stones of the breastplate, noting in several cases the therapeutic\nand talismanic virtues of these stones and giving his opinion as to the\norder in which the names of the tribes were inscribed upon them.[433]\nAs the foundation stones of Revelation are rightly called \u201capostolic\nstones,\u201d so those of the breastplate merit the designation of \u201ctribal\nstones,\u201d as well as that of astral stones; indeed, the Jews of medieval\ntimes definitely associated the tribes with the zodiacal signs in the\nfollowing order:\n\n  Judah          Aries\n  Issachar       Taurus\n  Zebulun        Gemini\n  Reuben         Cancer\n  Simeon         Leo\n  Gad            Virgo\n  Ephraim        Libra\n  Manasseh       Scorpio\n  Benjamin       Sagittarius\n  Dan            Capricorn\n  Naphtali       Aquarius\n  Asher          Pisces\n\nFor Rabanus Maurus the nine gems of the king of Tyre named in Ezekiel\nxxxviii, 13, are types of the nine orders of angels, just as the twelve\nfoundation stones of Revelation signify the twelve apostles.[434]\n\nIt is evident, from early and later usage, that, at the place and time\nwhere and when these stones were first utilized for birth-stones, the\nyear must have begun with the month of March. This will be apparent\nwhen we compare the following eight lists, carefully gathered from\nvarious sources:\n\n                                     Isidore\n                                     Bishop of\n  Month       Jews       Romans      Seville     Arabians\n\n  January    Garnet      Garnet      Hyacinth    Garnet\n\n  February   Amethyst    Amethyst    Amethyst    Amethyst\n\n  March      Jasper      Bloodstone  Jasper      Bloodstone\n\n  April      Sapphire    Sapphire    Sapphire    Sapphire\n\n  May        Chalcedony  Agate       Agate       Emerald\n             Carnelian\n             Agate\n\n  June       Emerald     Emerald     Emerald     Agate\n                                                 Chalcedony\n                                                 Pearl\n\n  July       Onyx        Onyx        Onyx        Carnelian\n\n  August     Carnelian   Carnelian   Carnelian   Sardonyx\n\n  September  Chrysolite  Sardonyx    Chrysolite  Chrysolite\n\n  October    Aquamarine  Aquamarine  Aquamarine  Aquamarine\n\n  November   Topaz       Topaz       Topaz       Topaz\n\n  December   Ruby        Ruby        Ruby        Ruby\n\n \u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014-Table split\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\u2014\n\n                                                 15th to 20th\n              Poles       Russians    Italians     Century\n\n  January     Garnet      Garnet      Jacinth      Garnet\n                          Hyacinth    Garnet\n\n  February    Amethyst    Amethyst    Amethyst     Amethyst\n                                                   Hyacinth\n                                                   Pearl\n\n  March       Bloodstone  Jasper       Jasper      Jasper\n                                                   Bloodstone\n\n  April       Diamond     Sapphire     Sapphire    Diamond\n                                                   Sapphire\n\n  May         Emerald     Emerald      Agate       Emerald\n                                                   Agate\n\n  June        Agate       Agate        Emerald     Cat\u2019s-eye\n              Chalcedony  Chalcedony               Turquoise\n                                                   Agate\n\n  July        Ruby        Ruby         Onyx        Turquoise\n                          Sardonyx                 Onyx\n\n  August      Sardonyx    Alexandrite  Carnelian   Sardonyx\n                                                   Carnelian\n                                                   Moonstone\n                                                   Topaz\n\n  September   Sardonyx    Chrysolite   Chrysolite  Chrysolite\n\n  October     Aquamarine  Beryl        Beryl       Beryl\n                                                   Opal\n\n  November    Topaz       Topaz        Topaz       Topaz\n                                                   Pearl\n\n  December    Turquoise   Turquoise    Ruby        Ruby\n              Chrysoprase                          Bloodstone\n\nIt may be interesting to show in these eight lists the stones which\nare most favored in each month in the following way, the numerals\nindicating the number of lists in which the stones appear (including\nthe alternate stones):\n\n  January    Garnet 7, hyacinth 2.\n  February   Amethyst 8, hyacinth 1, pearl 1.\n  March      Jasper 5, bloodstone 4.\n  April      Sapphire 7, diamond 2.\n  May        Agate 5, emerald 4, chalcedony 1, carnelian 1.\n  June       Emerald 4, agate 4, chalcedony 3, turquoise 1, pearl 1,\n                                                        cat\u2019s-eye 1.\n  July       Onyx 5, sardonyx 1, carnelian 1, ruby 1, turquoise 1.\n  August     Carnelian 5, sardonyx 3, moonstone 1, topaz 1, alexandrite 1.\n  September  Chrysolite 6, sardonyx 2.\n  October    Beryl, 8, aquamarine 5, opal 1.\n  November   Topaz 8, pearl 1.\n  December   Ruby 6, turquoise 2, chrysoprase 1, bloodstone 1.\n\nWith the exception of January, where we have the garnet instead of\nthe jacinth, and of December, which gives us the ruby instead of the\nchrysoprase, the first choices are practically identical with the\nfoundation stones, bearing in mind that the eleventh stone is that for\nJanuary, the twelfth that for February, the first that for March and so\non.\n\nOf the assignment of the natal stones to the different months of the\nyear or to the zodiacal signs, Poujet fils, writing in 1762, states\nthat in his opinion this fashion started in Germany\u2014others say in\nPoland\u2014some two centuries before his time, and he adds that, though\nthis arrangement was purely imaginary, and unknown to ancient writers,\nit soon became popular, and many, more especially of the fair sex,\nseeing in it an element of mystery, wished to wear rings set with the\nstone appropriate to the month of their birth, the stone being\nengraved with the appropriate zodiacal sign.[435] However correct\nPoujet may be regarding the period at which the fashion of wearing\nnatal rings was introduced, he is, as we have already shown, quite\nwrong in believing that the serial arrangement of the stones and\ntheir assignment to months or signs was purely imaginary, for it is\nunquestionably based on the list in Revelation, which in its turn goes\nback to the twelve stones of the high-priest\u2019s breastplate.\n\n[Illustration: FACSIMILE OF THE BETROTHAL RING OF THE VIRGIN IN THE\nCATHEDRAL OF PERUGIA.\n\nThe original ring, which is of chalcedony, is shown on St. Agatha\u2019s\nDay, July 29, to cure ailments of mothers. This cord and facsimile of\nring acquired by the author at Perugia, May 6, 1902.]\n\nThe fashion of wearing a series of twelve stones denoting (or bearing)\nthe zodiacal signs seems to have existed in the sixteenth century, for\nCatherine de\u2019 Medici is said to have worn a girdle set with twelve\nstones, among which were certain onyxes as large as crownpieces, upon\nwhich talismanic designs had been engraved. Two hundred years later\nthis girdle is stated to have been in the possession of a M. d\u2019Ennery,\nwhose collection of antique medals was regarded as the finest in Paris\nat the time.[436] It is not, however, certain that the twelve stones of\nCatherine\u2019s girdle were those attributed to the zodiacal signs both at\nan earlier and later period.\n\nThough the substitution of a new schedule for the time-honored list of\nbirth-stones has received the approval of the National Association of\nJewellers at the meeting in Kansas City August, 1912, it can scarcely\nbe said to offer a satisfactory solution of the question, which has\nits importance not only from a commercial point of view, but also\nbecause the idea that birth-stones possess a certain indefinable,\nbut none the less real significance, has long been present and still\nexercises a spell over the minds of all who are gifted with a touch of\nimagination, or romance, if you will. The longing for something that\nappeals to this sense is much more general than is commonly supposed,\nand is a not unnatural reaction against the progress of materialism,\nagainst the assertion that there is nothing in heaven or earth but what\nwe can definitely apprehend through our senses.\n\nIt is this persuasion that should be chiefly considered in any\nattempt to tamper with the traditional attribution of the stones to\nparticular months or to the zodiacal signs. Once we allow the spirit\nof commercialism pure and simple to dictate the choice of such stones,\naccording to the momentary interest of dealers, there is grave danger\nthat the only true incentive to acquire birth-stones will be weakened\nand people will lose interest in them. Sentiment, true sentiment, is\none of the best things in human nature. While if darkened by fear it\nmay lead to pessimism, with all the evils which such a state of mind\nimplies, if illumined by hope it gives to humanity a brighter forecast\nof the future, an optimism that helps people over difficult passages in\ntheir lives. Thus, sentiment must not be neglected, and nothing is more\nlikely to destroy it than the conviction that it is being constantly\nexploited for purposes of commercialism. For this reason, the interest\nas well as the inclination of all who are concerned in this question of\nbirth-stones should induce a very careful handling of the subject.\n\nQuite true it is that there are now, and have been in the past, several\nlists of these stones, differing slightly from one another, but all are\nbased essentially either upon the list of foundation stones given in\nRevelation (xxi, 19) or upon that of the gems adorning the breastplate\nof Aaron and enumerated in Exodus (xxxix, 10-13). For convenient\nreference, we give the latter according to the Authorized Version of\nthe Scriptures, and also as corrected by later research, and the former\naccording to the Authorized Version.\n\n                    Breastplate.               Foundation Stones.\n       Authorized Version.  Later Correction.  Authorized Version.\n\n     I       Sardius            Carnelian           Jasper\n    II       Topaz              Chrysolite          Sapphire\n                                (peridot)\n   III       Carbuncle          Emerald             Chalcedony\n    IV       Emerald            Ruby                Emerald\n     V       Sapphire           Lapis-lazuli        Sardonyx\n    VI       Diamond            Onyx                Sardius\n   VII       Ligure             Sapphire            Chrysolite\n  VIII       Agate              Agate               Beryl\n    IX       Amethyst           Amethyst            Topaz\n     X       Beryl              Topaz               Chrysoprasus\n    XI       Onyx               Beryl               Jacinth\n   XII       Jasper             Jasper              Amethyst\n\nWhile the arrangement differs in Revelation, the stones are nearly\nidentical. For chalcedonius, we should probably read _carchedonius_,\na name of the ruby; sardonyx is the onyx of Exodus; the jacinth\n(sapphire) is probably the \u201cligure\u201d; the sapphire was the lapis-lazuli,\nand sardius is equivalent to carnelian. There thus remains only the\nchrysoprase, which for some reason has substituted the agate. In the\neventual association of the foundation stones with the months, the\nfirst, the jasper, was assigned to March, with which month the year was\nreckoned to begin.\n\nThe list suggested and adopted in Kansas City reads as follows:\n\n  Month.        Birth-stone.      Alternate Stone.\n\n  January        Garnet\n  February       Amethyst\n  March          Bloodstone       Aquamarine\n  April          Diamond\n  May            Emerald\n  June           Pearl            Moonstone\n  July           Ruby\n  August         Sardonyx         Peridot\n  September      Sapphire\n  October        Opal             Tourmaline\n  November       Topaz\n  December       Turquoise        Lapis-lazuli\n\nAmong the many changes in this list from that habitually followed,\nit will be noted that the ruby is transferred from December to July,\nchanging places with the turquoise, which became the gem of December.\nThis has been favored on the ground that the warmer-colored gem was\nbest adapted for a July birth-stone, while the paler turquoise was best\nsuited to a winter month, when the sun\u2019s rays are feeble. The contrary,\nhowever, is true; for it is in winter that we seek for warmth, while\nin the heat of summer nothing is more grateful than coolness. This\ntransposition is, in effect, simply a return to the ordering of these\nstones in the Polish list, which may perhaps have become popular in\nEurope in the eighteenth century through Marie Leczinska, the queen of\nLouis XV. Another undesirable change takes the chrysolite (peridot)\nfrom the place it has always occupied as the gem of September, and\nmakes of it an alternate for August, with the sardonyx, while the\nsapphire, properly the gem for April, is made the birth-stone for\nSeptember. For October neither the tourmaline nor the opal is as\nappropriate as the beryl, while for June we should prefer the asteria\nto the moonstone as a substitute for the pearl.\n\nThis suggested radical change or violation cannot be permitted. The\ntime-honored ordering is familiar now to all who are interested in\nthe matter, and any change, even if one apparently for the better, is\nliable to disturb the popular confidence in those who are supposed\nto be familiar with the subject. Above all, there should be no\nduplication or triplication of birth-stones for any given month, the\nchoice between a birth-stone or an astral or zodiacal stone or the\ncombination of these affording all the variety that is necessary or\nshould be desired.\n\nAs the diamond does not appear to have been known to the ancients\nand is not given in any of the lists of birth-stones before the last\ncentury, and as diamonds, like gold and platinum, may easily be used as\naccessories to other stones, would it not perhaps be better to omit the\ndiamond from the list of the stones of the months, and rather use these\ngems as a bordering or other ornate addition to the stone of the month?\nThe pearl, which is not a stone in any sense of the word, should not\nappear in the list at all; but it can be worn in some device suggesting\na sentiment, as, for instance, an emblem of purity, etc.\n\nThe tourmaline, as a gem only known in modern times or since the\neighteenth century, seems out of place in the list of birth-stones,\nwhich ought only to comprise precious or semi-precious stones which\nhave been known and worn from ancient times.\n\n\u201cAstral stones\u201d or \u201czodiacal stones\u201d are terms used to designate those\ngems which were believed to be peculiarly and mystically related to the\nzodiacal signs. While these signs constitute a twelve-fold division of\nthe year just as do the months, they do not exactly coincide with the\nlatter as now reckoned, but overlap them, so that the sign Aquarius,\nfor instance, covers the period from January 21 to February 20, that of\nPisces from February 21 to March 20, that of Aries, the spring sign,\nfrom March 21 to April 20, and so on down to Capricornus, which begins\nat the winter solstice. Thus, every necessary opportunity is afforded\nfor enlarging the selection of natal stones while preserving the\ntraditional order of those appropriate to the months, an order which\nin its origin dates back to the early Christian centuries and which,\nfrom the close relation with the sacred gems of the Scriptures, it\nseems almost sacrilegious to violate by arbitrary changes.\n\n[Illustration: CARNELIAN, ENGRAVED WITH THE ZODIACAL SIGNS, TAURUS, LEO\nAND CAPRICORN; IN THE CENTRE A SIX-RAYED STAR, THE FORM OF ONE OF THESE\nRAYS DENOTING A COMET. (See p. 341.)\n\nReferred to the nativity of Augustus and to a comet which appeared\nshortly after the assassination of Julius C\u00e6sar. From De Mairan\u2019s\n\u201cLettres au R. P. Parrenin,\u201d Paris, 1770, opp. p. 274.]\n\nThen, in addition, we have the \u201ctalismanic gems,\u201d or the stones of the\ntwelve guardian angels, one set over all those born in each month.\nHere we have another time-honored list, differing from either of those\nmentioned above, so that, in almost if not quite every case, each\nperson has the choice between three different stones as \u201cbirth-stones,\u201d\nor can have them combined in an artistic jewel so as to profit by all\nthe favorable influences promised by the old authorities Thus, there\nis absolutely no excuse for playing fast and loose with an ancient,\npopular, and quasi-religious belief in the special virtue of _one\nparticular stone_ for each month, and that one the gem long prescribed\nby usage\n\nAs it might seem appropriate that one born in the United States should\nwear a gem from among those which our country furnishes, the following\nlist was some time since prepared by the writer, not in any sense as a\nsubstitute for the real birth-stones, but as possible accessory gems\n(when they were not identical), gems which might be worn from a spirit\nof patriotism Of course where the stone in question is really that\ntraditionally recommended, the fact that it is at the same time an\nAmerican gem-stone is an added argument in its favor\n\n    Month.        Stones.                Where found.\n\n  January      Garnet, rhodolite    Montana, New Mexico, Arizona,\n                                      North Carolina\n  February     Amethyst             North Carolina, Georgia, Virginia\n  March        Californite          California\n  April        Sapphire             Montana, Idaho\n  May          Green tourmaline     Lake Superior\n  June         Moss-agate           California, Montana, Wyoming, Arizona\n  July         Turquoise            New Mexico, California, Arizona\n  August       Golden beryl         California, Connecticut,\n                                      North Carolina\n  September    Kunzite              California\n  October      Aquamarine           North Carolina, Maine, California\n  November     Topaz                Utah, California, Maine\n  December     Rubellite            Montana\n\nThe year is divided into four seasons or cycles,\u2014spring, summer, fall,\nand winter,\u2014and each season has its particular gem The emerald is the\ngem of the spring, the ruby the gem of summer, the sapphire the gem of\nautumn, and the diamond the gem of winter\n\nFor spring, no precious stone is more appropriate than the emerald.\nIts beautiful color is that of Nature, for Nature clothes herself with\ngreen when she awakens from her long rest of winter. Having decked\nherself with green of the various tints and colors, she has selected\na background by which a contrast is made for the flowers that come in\nthe spring and summer and ripen into fruit and seeds of autumn. To be a\nseasonable gem it must be rare, and the emerald is rare. Whether found\nin the mines of Bogot\u00e1, whether mined in ancient times at Zabarah in\nEgypt, or in the past century in the Ural Mountains, it has never been\nfound in abundance. It is softer in color than the ruby and less hard\nin structure.\n\nThe ruby, although as a natal stone it belongs to December, is the gem\nof summer. It is born in the hot climates,\u2014the pigeon\u2019s-blood ruby in\nBurma, the pomegranate-red in Ceylon, and the more garnet-hued type\nin Siam,\u2014these three equatorial countries produce the ruby. Those\nof large size are always rare, and this is the gem which Job valued\nmore highly than any other, although \u201cgarnet\u201d may perhaps be a better\nrendering. It is on an equal plane in hardness, in composition, in\ncrystalline structure, and in every way, with the sapphire. These are\nsister gems, structurally alike, yet varying in complexion, due to a\nslight difference which some scientists think is not even dependent\nupon the coloring matter.\n\nThe sapphire\u2014the gem of autumn, the blue of the autumn sky\u2014is a\nsymbol of truth, sincerity, and constancy. Less vivid than its sister\ngem, the ruby, it typifies calm and tried affection, not ardent\npassion; it is therefore appropriate to the autumn season, when the\ndeclining sun no longer sends forth the fiery rays of summer but shines\nwith a tempered brilliancy.\n\nThe diamond, the gem of winter, typifying the sun, is the gem of\nlight. Its color is that of ice, and as the dewdrop or the drop of\nwater from a mountain stream sparkles in the light of the sun, as the\nicicle sparkles in winter, and the stars on a cold winter night, so\nthe diamond sparkles, and it combines and contrasts with all known\ngems. Like light, it illumines them just as the sun does the plants\nof the earth. The diamond, the gem of light, like light itself when\nbroken into a spectrum, gives us all known colors, and by combining all\nthese colors it gives us white. Like gold, the diamond was made rare,\nso that it must be searched for, and the mines and deposits contain\nless of these two substances in a given area than of any other known\nmaterials. It is thirty to a hundred times more rare than gold, for if\ngold occurs one part in 250,000, it can scarcely be worked with profit,\nwhile the diamond can be worked to advantage when found only one part\nin 10,000,000,\u2014yes, even one part in 25,000,000\u2014and, like gold, it\nsometimes spurs the searcher on to wealth or to ruin. As great nuggets\nof gold have occasionally been found, so has a diamond been discovered\nlarge enough to make the greatest ruler pause to pay its price, and one\nwhich it took an entire country to give to that ruler who sways his\nsceptre over countries in which the world\u2019s greatest diamonds have been\nfound.\n\nWhen the God of the Mines called his courtiers to bring him all known\ngems, he found them to be of all colors and tints, and of varying\nhardnesses, such as the ruby, emerald, sapphire, etc., etc. He took\none of each; he crushed them; he compounded them, and said: \u201cLet this\nbe something that will combine the beauty of all; yet it must be pure,\nand it must be invincible.\u201d He spoke: and lo! the diamond was born,\npure as the dewdrop and invincible in hardness; but when its ray\nis resolved in the spectrum, it displays all the colors of the gems\nfrom which it was made. \u201cMine,\u201d said the god, \u201cmust be the gem of the\nuniverse; for my queen I will create one that shall be the greatest gem\nof the sea,\u201d and for her he created the pearl.\n\n\n  Gems of Spring              Gems of Summer\n\n  Amethyst                    Zircon\n  Green diamond               Garnet (demantoid and ouvarite)\n  Chrysoberyl                 Chrysoberyl (alexandrite)\n  Spinel (rubicelle)          Spinel\n  Pink topaz                  Pink topaz\n  Olivine (peridot)           Ruby\n  Emerald                     Fire opal\n\n  Gems of Autumn              Gems of Winter\n\n  Hyacinth                    Diamond\n  Topaz                       Rock-crystal\n  Sapphire                    White sapphire\n  Jacinth                     Turquoise\n  Cairngorm                   Quartz\n  Adamantine spar             Moonstone\n  Tourmaline                  Pearl\n  Oriental chrysolite         Labradorite\n\n\nSENTIMENTS OF THE MONTHS\n\nJANUARY\n\n  _Natal stone_                              Garnet.\n  _Guardian angel_                           Gabriel.\n  _His talismanic gem_                       Onyx.\n  _Special apostle_                          Simon Peter.\n  _His gem_                                  Jasper.\n  _Zodiacal sign_                            Aquarius.\n  _Flower_                                   Snowdrop.\n\n        No gems save garnets should be worn\n        By her who in this month is born;\n        They will insure her constancy,\n        True friendship and fidelity.\n\n    The gleaming garnet holds within its sway\n    Faith, constancy, and truth to one alway.\n\n\nFEBRUARY\n\n  _Natal stone_                            Amethyst.\n  _Guardian angel_                         Barchiel.\n  _His talismanic gem_                     Jasper.\n  _Special apostle_                        Andrew.\n  _His gem_                                Carbuncle.\n  _Zodiacal sign_                          Pisces.\n  _Flower_                                 Primrose.\n\n          The February-born may find\n          Sincerity and peace of mind,\n          Freedom from passion and from care,\n          If she an amethyst will wear.\n\n    Let her an amethyst but cherish well,\n    And strife and care can never with her dwell.\n\n\nMARCH\n\n  _Natal stone_                            Jasper, bloodstone.\n  _Guardian Angel_                         Malchediel.\n  _His talismanic gem_                     Ruby.\n  _Special apostles_                       James and John.\n  _Their gem_                              Emerald.\n  _Zodiacal sign_                          Aries.\n  _Flower_                                 Ipom\u0153a, violet.\n\n        Who on this world of ours her eyes\n        In March first opens may be wise,\n        In days of peril firm and brave,\n        Wears she a bloodstone to her grave.\n\n    Who wears a jasper, be life short or long,\n    Will meet all dangers brave and wise and strong.\n\n\nAPRIL\n\n  _Natal stone_                            Diamond, sapphire.\n  _Guardian angel_                         Ashmodei.\n  _His talismanic gem_                     Topaz.\n  _Special apostle_                        Philip.\n  _His gem_                                Carnelian.\n  _Zodiacal sign_                          Taurus.\n  _Flower_                                 Daisy.\n\n      She who from April dates her years\n      Diamonds should wear, lest bitter tears\n      For vain repentance flow This stone\n      Emblem of innocence is known.\n\n    Innocence, repentance\u2014sun and shower\u2014\n    The diamond or the sapphire is her dower.\n\n\nMAY\n\n  _Natal stone_                            Emerald.\n  _Guardian angel_                         Amriel.\n  _His talismanic gem_                     Carbuncle.\n  _Special apostle_                        Bartholomew.\n  _His gem_                                Chrysolite.\n  _Zodiacal sign_                          Gemini.\n  _Flower_                                 Hawthorn.\n\n        Who first beholds the light of day\n        In spring\u2019s sweet flow\u2019ry month of May,\n        And wears an emerald all her life,\n        Shall be a loved and happy wife.\n\n    No happier wife and mother in the land\n    Than she with emerald shining on her hand.\n\n\nJUNE\n\n  _Natal stone_                            Agate.\n  _Guardian angel_                         Muriel.\n  _His talismanic gem_                     Emerald.\n  _Special apostle_                        Thomas.\n  _His gem_                                Beryl.\n  _Zodiacal sign_                          Cancer.\n  _Flower_                                 Honeysuckle.\n\n      Who comes with summer to this earth,\n      And owes to June her hour of birth,\n      With ring of agate on her hand\n      Can health, long life, and wealth command.\n\n    Thro\u2019 the moss-agate\u2019s charm, the happy years\n    Ne\u2019er see June\u2019s golden sunshine turn to tears.\n\n\nJULY\n\n  _Natal stone_                            Turquoise.\n  _Guardian angel_                         Verchiel.\n  _His talismanic gem_                     Sapphire.\n  _Special apostle_                        Matthew.\n  _His gem_                                Topaz.\n  _Zodiacal sign_                          Leo.\n  _Flower_                                 Water-lily.\n\n      The heav\u2019n-blue turquoise should adorn\n      All those who in July are born;\n      For those they\u2019ll be exempt and free\n      From love\u2019s doubts and anxiety.\n\n    No other gem than turquoise on her breast\n    Can to the loving, doubting heart bring rest.\n\n\nAUGUST\n\n  _Natal stone_                            Carnelian.\n  _Guardian angel_                         Hamatiel.\n  _His talismanic gem_                     Diamond.\n  _Special apostle_                        James, the son of Alpheus.\n  _His gem_                                Sardonyx.\n  _Zodiacal sign_                          Virgo.\n  _Flower_                                 Poppy.\n\n      Wear a carnelian or for thee\n      No conjugal felicity;\n      The August-born without this stone,\n      \u2019Tis said, must live unloved, alone.\n\n    She, loving once and always, wears, if wise,\n    Carnelian\u2014and her home is paradise.\n\n\nSEPTEMBER\n\n  _Natal stone_                            Chrysolite.\n  _Guardian angel_                         Tsuriel.\n  _His talismanic gem_                     Jacinth.\n  _Special apostle_                        Lebbeus Thaddeus.\n  _His gem_                                Chrysoprase.\n  _Zodiacal sign_                          Libra.\n  _Flower_                                 Morning-glory.\n\n    A maid born when September leaves\n    Are rustling in the autumn breeze,\n    A chrysolite on brow should bind\u2014\n    \u2019Twill cure diseases of the mind.\n\n    If chrysolite upon her brow is laid,\n    Follies and dark delusions flee afraid.\n\n\nOCTOBER\n\n  _Natal stone_                            Beryl.\n  _Guardian angel_                         Bariel.\n  _His talismanic gem_                     Agate.\n  _Special apostle_                        Simon. (Zelotes.)\n  _His gem_                                Jacinth.\n  _Zodiacal sign_                          Scorpio.\n  _Flower_                                 Hops.\n\n      October\u2019s child is born for woe,\n      And life\u2019s vicissitudes must know;\n      But lay a beryl on her breast,\n      And Hope will lull those woes to rest.\n\n    When fair October to her brings the beryl,\n    No longer need she fear misfortune\u2019s peril.\n\n\nNOVEMBER\n\n  _Natal stone_                            Topaz.\n  _Guardian angel_                         Adnachiel.\n  _His talismanic gem_                     Amethyst.\n  _Special apostle_                        Matthias.\n  _His gem_                                Amethyst.\n  _Zodiacal sign_                          Sagittarius.\n  _Flower_                                 Chrysanthemum.\n\n       Who first comes to this world below\n       With drear November\u2019s fog and snow\n       Should prize the topaz\u2019s amber hue\u2014\n       Emblem of friends and lovers true.\n\n    Firm friendship is November\u2019s, and she bears\n    True love beneath the topaz that she wears.\n\n\nDECEMBER\n\n  _Natal stone_                            Ruby.\n  _Guardian angel_                         Humiel.\n  _His talismanic gem_                     Beryl.\n  _Special apostle_                        Paul.\n  _His gem_                                Sapphire.\n  _Zodiacal sign_                          Capricornus.\n  _Flower_                                 Holly.\n\n      If cold December give you birth\u2014\n      The month of snow and ice and mirth\u2014\n      Place on your hand a ruby true;\n      Success will bless whate\u2019er you do.\n\n    December gives her fortune, love and fame\n    If amulet of rubies bear her name.\n\n[Illustration: 1. Moss agate mocha stone, Hindoostan.\n\n2. Moss agate, Brazil, S. A.]\n\n\nA HINDU LIST OF GEMS OF THE MONTHS[437]\n\n  April                            Diamond\n  May                              Emerald\n  June                             Pearl\n  July                             Sapphire\n  August                           Ruby\n  September                        Zircon\n  October                          Coral\n  November                         Cat\u2019s-eye\n  December                         Topaz\n  January                          Serpent-stone\n  February                         Chandrakanta\n  March                            The gold Siva-linga\n\nWhen the zodiacal signs were engraved on gems to give them special\nvirtues and render them of greater efficacy for those born under a\ngiven sign, the Hebrew characters designating the sign (or at least the\ninitial character) were often cut upon the gem. As the letters in which\nthe earliest of our sacred writings were written, a peculiar sanctity\nwas often ascribed to these Hebrew characters, which were perhaps the\nmore highly valued that they were unknown to the owners of the gems,\nand hence possessed a certain air of mystery for them. The subjoined\nlist of the signs with the Hebrew equivalents may be of interest on\nthis account.\n\n\nHEBREW NAMES OF THE SIGNS OF THE ZODIAC\n\n  Libra           \u05de\u05d0\u05d6\u05e0\u05d9\u05dd     Moznayim\n  Scorpio           \u05e2\u05e7\u05e8\u05d1     \u2018Akrab\n  Sagittarius        \u05e7\u05e9\u05c1\u05ea     \u1e32eshet\n  Capricornus        \u05d2\u05d3\u05d9     Gedi\n  Aquarius           \u05d3\u05dc\u05d9     Deli\n  Pisces            \u05d3\u05dc\u05d9\u05dd     Dagim\n  Aries              \u05d8\u05dc\u05d4     \u1e6caleh\n  Taurus             \u05e9\u05c1\u05d5\u05e8     Shor\n  Gemini          \u05ea\u05d0\u05d5\u05de\u05d9\u05dd     Te\u2019omim\n  Cancer            \u05e1\u05e8\u05d9\u05d4     Sartan\n  Leo               \u05d0\u05e8\u05d9\u05d4     Aryeh\n  Virgo            \u05d1\u05ea\u05d5\u05dc\u05d4     Betulah\n\n\nGEMS OF WEEK DAYS\n\n Sunday: Topaz\u2014diamond.\n\n    The bairn that is born\n      On Sonnan\u2019s sweet day\n    Is blithe and is bonnie,\n      Is happy and gay.\n\n Sunday\u2019s talismanic gem: the pearl.\n\n\n Monday: Pearl\u2014crystal.\n\n    The bairn that is born\n      Of Monan\u2019s sweet race\n    Is lovely in feature\n      And fair in the face.\n\n Monday\u2019s talismanic gem: the emerald.\n\n[Illustration: THE FIGURES OF THE PLANETS WITH THEIR SIGNIFICANT STONES.\n\nOld print showing the Roman types of the days of the week and also the\nstones and zodiacal signs associated with each day. Here we have Diana,\nwith the sign of Cancer and the moonstone, for Monday; Mars, with the\nsign Capricorn and the jasper, for Tuesday; Mercury, with Gemini and\nthe rock-crystal, for Wednesday; Jupiter, with Sagittarius and Pisces\nand the carnelian, for Thursday; Venus, with Taurus and the emerald,\nfor Friday; and Saturn, with Capricorn and Aquarius and the turquoise,\nfor Saturday.]\n\n\n Tuesday: Ruby\u2014emerald.\n\n    If Tuisco assists\n      And at birth keeps apace,\n    The bairn will be born\n      With a soul full of grace.\n\n Tuesday\u2019s talismanic gem: the topaz.\n\n\n Wednesday: Amethyst\u2014loadstone.\n\n    But if Woden be there,\n      Many tears will he sow,\n    And the bairn will be born\n      But for sadness and woe.\n\n Wednesday\u2019s talismanic gem: the turquoise.\n\n\n Thursday: Sapphire\u2014carnelian.\n\n    Jove\u2019s presence at birth\n      Means a long swath to mow,\n    For if born on Thor\u2019s day\n      Thou hast far, far to go.\n\n Thursday\u2019s talismanic gem: the sapphire.\n\n\n Friday: Emerald\u2014cat\u2019s-eye.\n\n    If Venus shall bless thee,\n      Thou shalt bless many living;\n    For Friga\u2019s bairn truly\n      Is loving and giving.\n\n Friday\u2019s talismanic gem: the ruby.\n\n\n Saturday: Turquoise\u2014diamond.\n\n    Seater-daeg\u2019s bairn\n      In sweat shall be striving,\n    For Saturn has doomed it\n      To work for a living.\n\n Saturday\u2019s talismanic gem: the amethyst.\n\nNo gems have afforded more interest to the Oriental peoples than\nthose that are known as phenomenal gems; that is, such as exhibit a\nphenomenal quality, either as a moving line as in the chrysoberyl\ncat\u2019s-eye, or the quartz cat\u2019s-eye, or as a star, a class represented\nby the star-sapphire and the star-ruby, all these being considered to\nbring good fortune to the wearer. A splendid star-sapphire is in the\nhilt of the sword presented as an Easter gift to King Constantine of\nGreece, then Prince Constantine, by the Greeks of America, on Easter\nDay 1913.[438] This ornate and beautiful sword was made by Tiffany &\nCo. Then there is the alexandrite cat\u2019s-eye which, in addition to its\nchatoyant effect, changes from green to red, showing its natural color\nby day and glowing with a ruddy hue by artificial light. The cat\u2019s-eye\neffect here is caused by a twinning of the crystal; that is, when the\ngem is cut, with a dome, across the twinning line, this shows itself\nas a smooth band of white light, with a translucent or transparent\nspace at one side, the line varying in sharpness and in breadth as the\nillumination becomes more intense. If the light is very bright, the\nline is no wider than the thinnest possible silver or platinum wire.\n\nThe quartz cat\u2019s-eye, less distinct than the chrysoberyl cat\u2019s-eye,\nis also found in the East, and possesses the property that when cut\nstraight across, an apparent striation in the stone produces the\ncat\u2019s-eye effect, but the material is not so rich or brilliant nor is\nthe gem as beautiful as is the true cat\u2019s-eye. The alexandrite variety\nof chrysoberyl is colored by chromium and is dichroitic, appearing\ngreen when viewed in one direction and red in another; in artificial\nlight, however, the green color is lost and the red alone becomes\napparent.\n\nThe moonstone, with its moonlike, silvery-white light, changes on the\nsurface as the light varies. This is due to a chatoyancy produced by a\nreflection caused by certain cleavage planes present in feldspar of the\nvariety to which the moonstone belongs.\n\nPHENOMENAL GEMS FOR THE DAYS OF THE WEEK\n\n  Sunday                Sunstone\n  Monday                Moonstone\n  Tuesday               Star sapphire\n  Wednesday             Star ruby\n  Thursday              Cat\u2019s-eye\n  Friday                Alexandrite\n  Saturday              Labradorite\n\nFashion in some parts of the Orient dictates the use of special colors\nfor raiment and jewels to be worn on the different days of the week. In\nSiam deep red silks and rubies are appropriate for Sunday wear; white\nfabrics and moonstones are prescribed for Monday; light red garments\nand coral ornaments are favored for Tuesday; striped stuffs and jewels\nset with the cat\u2019s-eye are considered the proper wear for Wednesday;\ngreen materials and emeralds are decreed for Thursday; silver-blue\nrobes and ornaments set with diamonds are chosen for Friday, and on\nSaturday those who obey the dictates of fashion are clad in dark blue\ngarments and wear sapphires of a similar hue.\n\nOur age is not satisfied with the marvellous progress of science, which\nhas rendered possible the realization of many of the old magicians\u2019\ndreams. In spite of this there seems to be a growing tendency to\nrevive many of the old beliefs which appeared to have been definitely\ndiscarded; therefore we need not be surprised that the nineteenth\ncentury offers us a work on the magic art, written precisely in the\nspirit that animated an Agrippa or a Porta in the fifteenth and\nsixteenth centuries.[439] This work gives elaborate directions as to\nthe manner in which the \u201cMagus\u201d should proceed to perform his magic\nrites.\n\nEach day has its special and peculiar ritual. Sunday is the day for\nthe \u201cWorks of Light,\u201d and on this day a purple robe should be worn\nand a tiara and bracelets of gold; the ring placed on the finger of\nthe operator should be of gold and set with a chrysolite or a ruby.\nA white robe with silver stripes is to be worn on Monday, the day of\nthe \u201cWorks of Divination and Mystery,\u201d and the high-priest of the\nmysteries wears over his robe a triple necklace of pearls, \u201ccrystals,\u201d\nand selenites; the tiara should be covered with yellow silk, and\nbear in silver characters the Hebrew monogram of Gabriel, as given\nby Cornelius Agrippa in his \u201cOccult Philosophy.\u201d Tuesday is assigned\nto the \u201cWorks of Wrath,\u201d and on this day the robe must be red, the\ncolor of fire and blood, with a belt and bracelets of steel; the tiara\nshould have a circlet of iron, and a sword or a stylus is to be used\nin place of a wand; the ring is set with an amethyst. The day for\nthe \u201cWorks of Science\u201d is Wednesday, when a green robe is worn and\na necklace of hollow glass beads, filled with quicksilver; the ring\nis adorned with an agate. On Thursday, appointed for the \u201cWorks of\nReligion or Politics,\u201d a scarlet robe is worn; upon the forehead of\nthe operator is bound a plate of tin, engraved with the symbol of the\nplanet Jupiter and various mystic characters; the ring bears either an\nemerald or a sapphire. Friday, the day of Venus, is naturally dedicated\nto the \u201cWorks of Love,\u201d and the celebrant wears a sky-blue robe; his\nring shows a turquoise, and his tiara is set with lapis-lazuli and\nberyl. The \u201cWorks of Mourning\u201d belong to Saturday, when a black or a\nbrown robe is worn, embroidered in orange-colored silk with mystic\ncharacters; from the neck of the operator hangs a leaden medal, bearing\nthe symbol of the planet Saturn, and on his finger is a ring set with\nan onyx, upon which a double-faced Janus has been engraved while\nSaturn was in the ascendant.\n\n\nGEMS OF THE HOURS\n\nHOURS OF THE DAY           HOURS OF THE NIGHT\n\n  7 Chrysolite               7 Sardonyx\n  8 Amethyst                 8 Chalcedony\n  9 Kunzite                  9 Jade\n  10 Sapphire                10 Jasper\n  11 Garnet                  11 Loadstone\n  12 Diamond                 12 Onyx\n  1 Jacinth                  1 Morion\n  2 Emerald                  2 Hematite\n  3 Beryl                    3 Malachite\n  4 Topaz                    4 Lapis-lazuli\n  5 Ruby                     5 Turquoise\n  6 Opal                     6 Tourmaline\n\n\nWEDDING ANNIVERSARIES\n\n  1 Paper                    19 Hyacinth\n  2 Calico                   20 China\n  3 Linen                    23 Sapphire\n  4 Silk                     25 Silver\n  5 Wood                     26 Star sapphire, blue[440]\n  6 Candy                    30 Pearl\n  7 Floral                   35 Coral\n  8 Leather                  39 Cat\u2019s-eye[440]\n  9 Straw                    40 Ruby\n  10 Tin                     45 Alexandrite\n  12 Agate                   50 Gold\n  13 Moonstone[440]          52 Star ruby[440]\n  14 Moss agate              55 Emerald\n  15 Rock-crystal, glass     60 Diamond, yellow\n  16 Topaz                   65 Star sapphire, gray[440]\n  17 Amethyst                67 Star sapphire, purple\n  18 Garnet                  75 Diamond\n\n\n\n\nX\n\nPlanetary and Astral Influences of Precious Stones\n\n\nThe talismanic influence of the stones associated with the planets and\nalso with the signs of the zodiac is closely connected with the early\nideas regarding the formation of precious stones. In an old work on the\noccult properties of gems we read:\n\n The nature of the magnet is in the iron, and the nature of the iron\n is in the magnet, and the nature of both polar stars is in both iron\n and magnet, and hence the nature of the iron and the magnet is also in\n both polar stars, and since they are Martian, that is to say, their\n region belongs to Mars, so do both iron and magnet belong to Mars.\n\nThe author then proceeds to describe an analogous relation between a\nman and any natural object or product to which his imagination draws\nhim, and shows that, if this object be one that stands in a sympathetic\nrelation with the star beneath which the man was born, the man, the\nstar, and the object will constitute a triplicity of great utility. As\nan explanation of the peculiarly intimate relation between stars and\nprecious stones we read, on page 12:\n\n Metals and precious stones usually lie with their first seeds deep\n down in the earth and require continuous moisture and a mild heat.\n This they obtain through a reflection of the sun and the other stars\n in the manifold movement of the heavens.... Therefore, also, the\n metals and precious stones are nearest related to the planets and\n the stars, since these influence them most potently and produce their\n peculiar qualities, for they are enduring and unchangeable and show\n therein their concordance [with the stars and the planets].[441]\n\nHence it is that the influence over human fortunes ascribed by\nastrology to the heavenly bodies is conceived to be strengthened by\nwearing the gem appropriate to certain planets or signs, for a subtle\nemanation has passed into the stone and radiates from it. A combination\nof several different stones, each partaking of this special quality,\nwas believed to have an influence similar to that exercised by several\nplanets in conjunction,\u2014that is, grouped in the same \u201chouse\u201d or\ndivision of the heavens.\n\nThe same is true of the stones dedicated to the guardian angels; the\ncolor and appearance of the stone was not merely emblematic of the\nangel, but, by its sympathetic quality, it was supposed to attract\nhis influence and to provide a medium for the transmission of his\nbeneficent force to the wearer. The whole theory, whether consciously\nor unconsciously, rested on the idea of harmony, of the accord of\ncertain ethereal vibrations, either those of the visible light of the\nstars and planets or the purely psychic emanations from the spiritual\n\u201cpowers and principalities.\u201d\n\nThe wearing of the appropriate zodiacal gem was always believed to\nstrengthen the influence of the zodiacal sign upon those born under\nit, and to afford a sympathetic medium for the transmission of the\nstellar influences. The gem was thus something more than a mere symbol\nof the sign. The same was true of the stone of the saint who ruled the\nmonth and that of the holy guardian angel set over those born in the\nmonth. In each and every case the material form and color of the stone\nwas believed to attract the favor and grace of the saint or angel, who\nwould see in the selection of the appropriate gem an act of respect and\nveneration on the part of the wearer.\n\nThe old writers are never tired of insisting upon the idea that,\nwhile the image graven upon a stone was in itself dead and inactive,\nthe influence of the stars during whose ascendancy the work had been\nexecuted communicated to the inert material talismanic qualities and\nvirtues which it before lacked. In these instances the images could\nbe regarded as outward and visible signs of the planetary or zodiacal\ninfluence. Even in the case of the bezoar stone, a generally recognized\nantidote for all sorts of poisons, it was held that the scorpion\u2019s bite\ncould be most effectually healed by a bezoar upon which this creature\u2019s\nfigure had been cut during the time when the constellation Scorpio was\nin the ascendancy.[442]\n\nIn the production of engraved stones to serve as amulets, the influence\nof the respective planet was made to enter the stone by casting upon\nthe latter, during the process of engraving, reflections from a mirror\nwhich had been exposed to the planet\u2019s rays. In addition to this,\nthe work was executed while the planet was in the ascendant, and the\ndesign was emblematic of it. With these combined influences the gem was\nbelieved to be thoroughly impregnated with the planetary virtue.[443]\n\nAn old writer finds in the hardness of precious stones a reason for\ntheir retaining longer the celestial virtues they receive. After they\nhave been extracted these virtues persist in them and they keep \u201cthe\ntraces and gifts of mundane life which they possessed while clinging\nto the earth.\u201d[444] These \u201cgifts of mundane life\u201d signify the stored-up\nenergy derived from the stars and planets, which penetrates the matter\nof the stone, and each stone is peculiarly sensitive to the emanations\nfrom a certain planet, star, or group of stars.\n\nA fine carnelian gem engraved with a design consisting of a star\nsurrounded by the images of a ram, a bull, and a lion, is described by\nM. Mairan.[445] He sees in the star the emblem of the splendid comet\nwhich appeared shortly after the assassination of C\u00e6sar, and which,\naccording to Suetonius, was believed to be the soul of C\u00e6sar newly\nreceived into the sky; the ram, bull, and lion are the symbols of the\nzodiacal signs Aries, Taurus, and Leo, the first-named sign referring\nperhaps to the death of C\u00e6sar on the Ides, or fifteenth of March;\nwhile the other two signs may allude to the position of the comet at\ndifferent dates.\n\nIn the Cabinet du Roi, in Paris, there was an engraved carnelian,\nthe design showing Jupiter enthroned, with thunderbolt and sceptre,\nand Mars and Mercury standing on either side of the central figure.\nSeparated from the gods of the upper air by a bow, probably\nrepresenting the arch of the sky, appears the bust of Neptune, emerging\nfrom the sea. The border of the design is formed by the twelve signs\nof the zodiac, Virgo being of an unusual type,\u2014the virgin and a\nunicorn,\u2014said to have been used only during the reign of Domitian\n(81-96 A.D.).[446]\n\nSome choice examples of astrological gems may be seen in the\nMetropolitan Museum of Art, New York; among these is a green jasper\nbearing symbols of Luna, Capricorn, and Taurus. This gem is from the\ncollection of the late Rev. C. W. King, which has been acquired for the\nMuseum, and is described as figuring the horoscope of the owner. In\nthe same collection is a banded agate engraved with Sagittarius as a\ncentaur, surrounded by the stars of this constellation in their proper\norder. King states that this was the earliest horoscopical gem known to\nhim. Still another gem of this collection is a sard bearing the symbol\nof Aries carrying a long caduceus; this type appears on the coins of\nAntioch, because that city was founded in the month over which the sign\nAries presides.[447]\n\nThe Austrian Imperial Collection in Vienna contains the celebrated\nGemma Augustea, sometimes called the Apotheosis of Augustus. This\ncommemorates the Pannonian triumph of Tiberius, 13 A.D., and above the\nfigure of Augustus appears the sign of Capricornus, the constellation\nof his nativity; beneath the figure of Tiberius is engraved the sign\nof Scorpio, under which that emperor was born. This celebrated cameo,\nthe work of the famous gem-engraver Dioskorides, is mentioned in an\ninventory of the treasury of St. Sernin, in Toulouse, dated 1246. It is\nsaid to have been offered by Francis I of France to Pope Clement VII,\non the occasion of their meeting in Marseilles in 1535; however, as\nthe gem only reached Marseilles two days after the pope\u2019s departure,\nFrancis decided to retain possession of it. The royal treasure at\nFontainebleau was plundered in 1590, and the stone was offered for\nsale, and was purchased, in 1619, by Emperor Rudolph II, for the sum of\n12,000 ducats.\n\n[Illustration: THE ZODIACAL STONES WITH THEIR SIGNS.\n\nOld print illustrating the influence believed to be exerted on the\ndifferent parts of the body by the respective zodiacal signs, and\nthrough their power by the stones associated with them. This belief\noften determined the administration of special precious-stone remedies\nby physicians of the seventeenth and earlier centuries.]\n\nA ruby called sandastros is described by Pliny as containing stellated\nbodies which he compares to the Hyades; hence, says he, they are the\nobjects of great devotion with the Chald\u00e6i or Assyrian Magi. According\nto Morales (De las piedras preciosas), the ruby and the diamond were\nboth under the influence of the sign of Taurus; the same writer informs\nus that the Hyades and the sun were supposed to have a potent effect\nupon the ruby or carbuncle. In ancient Babylonia the sign of Taurus\nwas regarded as the most important, and Winckler believes that the\npresence in this sign of the five stars of the Hyades and the seven of\nthe Pleiades was brought into connection with the twelve-fold division\nof the zodiac. The Hyades signified the five signs visible in Babylonia\nat the summer solstice, while the Pleiades typified the seven invisible\nsigns. It seems probable that the Pleiades were associated with the\ndiamond, although Morales, who was very familiar with the Moorish\nastrology current among the Spaniards of his time, attributed the\ncrystal to this group. His attribution proves at least that the stone\nof the Pleiades was a colorless one.\n\nIn Sanskrit the diamond is called _vajra_, \u201cthunderbolt,\u201d and also\n_indr\u00e2judha_, \u201cIndra\u2019s weapon\u201d; another name is _a\u00e7ira_, \u201cfire,\u201d or\n\u201cthe Sun.\u201d[448] All these designations are probably suggested by the\nbrilliant flashes of light emitted by this stone. It is not easy to\ndetermine the reason that induced the Hindus to dedicate the diamond\nto the planet Venus rather than to the Sun or to the Moon. However, as\nthe most brilliant of the planets, Venus was not unworthy of the honor,\nand if we substitute the Goddess of Love for her planet, it seems\nquite appropriate that she should be adorned with the most brilliant\nof precious stones. Certainly these sparkling gems are often enough\noffered at the shrine of Venus in our own day, and they often serve to\nwin the good graces of the divinity to whom they are presented.\n\nThe Sanskrit name for the sapphire, _n\u00eela_, signifies \u201cblue,\u201d so that,\nas the topaz is the \u201cyellow stone\u201d _par excellence_, the sapphire\nis the blue stone (_nila\u00e7man_). In both cases the name indicates a\nvariety of corundum, distinguished merely by the coloring matter. As\na talisman the Hindus believed that the sapphire rendered the planet\nSaturn favorable to the wearer, an important consideration from the\nastrological point of view, for Saturn\u2019s influence was generally\nsupposed to be unfavorable. The Hindus distinguished four classes of\nsapphires, corresponding to the four castes: Brahmins, Kshatriyas,\nVaisyas, and Sudras. The respective sapphires were light blue, reddish\nblue, yellowish blue, and dark blue. The same distinction is made\nin the case of the diamond, and a like rule applies to both stones,\nnamely, that only the appropriate stone should be worn by the members\nof each caste, in order to profit by the virtues inherent in the\nsapphire or diamond.[449]\n\nOne of the Sanskrit appellations of the hyacinth (zircon) is\n_r\u00e2huratna_,\u2014that is, the jewel dedicated to the mysterious \u201cdragon,\u201d\nthat was supposed to be the cause of the periodic eclipses of the Sun\nand Moon.[450] As the stone was sacred to this malevolent influence,\nwe need not be surprised that it was believed to avert misfortune, for\nnothing was so effective against the lesser spirits of evil as an evil\ngenius of great power.\n\nAccording to the Hindu mystics it was very lucky to have a turquoise\nat hand at the time of the new moon, for whoever, after first looking\nat the moon on the _pratipada_ (the first day after new-moon), should\ncast his eyes upon a turquoise, was destined to enjoy immeasurable\nwealth.[451]\n\n\nZODIACAL GEMS\n\n  Aquarius.\n      January 21 to February 21.\n  The Garnet.\n            If you would cherish friendship true,\n            In Aquarius well you\u2019ll do\n            To wear this gem of warmest hue\u2014\n                                  The garnet.\n\n  Pisces.\n      February 21 to March 21.\n  The Amethyst.\n            From passion and from care kept free\n            Shall Pisces\u2019 children ever be\n            Who wear so all the world may see\n                                The amethyst.\n\n  Aries.\n      March 21 to April 20.\n  The Bloodstone.\n            Who on this world of ours his eyes\n            In Aries opens shall be wise\n            If always on his hand there lies\n                                    A bloodstone.\n\n    Taurus.\n        April 20 to May 21.\n    The Sapphire.\n              If on your hand this stone you bind,\n              You in Taurus born will find\n              \u2019Twill cure diseases of the mind,\n                                    The sapphire.\n\n    Gemini.\n        May 21 to June 21.\n    The Agate.\n              Gemini\u2019s children health and wealth command,\n              And all the ills of age withstand,\n              Who wear their rings on either hand\n                                            Of agate.\n\n    Cancer.\n        June 21 to July 22.\n    The Emerald.\n              If born in Cancer\u2019s sign, they say,\n              Your life will joyful be alway,\n              If you take with you on your way\n                                    An emerald.\n\n    Leo.\n        July 22 to August 22.\n    The Onyx.\n              When youth to manhood shall have grown,\n              Under Leo lorn and lone\n              \u2019Twill have lived but for this stone,\n                                            The onyx.\n\n    Virgo.\n        August 22 to September 22.\n    The Carnelian.\n              Success will bless whate\u2019er you do,\n              Through Virgo\u2019s sign, if only you\n              Place on your hand her own gem true,\n                                      Carnelian.\n\n    Libra.\n        September 22 to October 23.\n    The Chrysolite.\n              Through Libra\u2019s sign it is quite well\n              To free yourself from evil spell,\n              For in her gem surcease doth dwell,\n                                  The chrysolite.\n\n    Scorpio.\n        October 23 to November 21.\n    The Beryl.\n              Through Scorpio this gem so fair\n              Is that which every one should wear,\n              Or tears of sad repentance bear,\u2014\n                                        The beryl.\n\n    Sagittarius.\n        November 21 to December 21.\n    The Topaz.\n              Who first comes to this world below\n              Under Sagittarius should know\n              That their true gem should ever show\n                                          A topaz.\n\n    Capricorn.\n        December 21 to January 21.\n    The Ruby.\n              Those who live in Capricorn\n              No trouble shall their brows adorn\n              If they this glowing gem have worn,\n                                      The ruby.\n\nAn old Spanish list of the gems of the zodiacal signs differs from\nthose given above, and probably represents Arab tradition:[452]\n\n  Aries\u2014Crystal\n  Taurus\u2014Ruby and diamond\n  Gemini\u2014Sapphire\n  Cancer\u2014Agate and beryl\n  Leo\u2014Topaz\n  Virgo\u2014Magnet\n  Libra\u2014Jasper\n  Scorpio\u2014Garnet\n  Sagittarius\u2014Emerald\n  Capricorn\u2014Chalcedony\n  Aquarius\u2014Amethyst\n  Pisces\u2014\n\nOf planetary stones[453] there is assigned to the sun the jacinth\nand the chrysolite, when this latter name was applied to the\nyellow Brazilian chrysoberyl, while the moon controls the beryl,\nthe rock-crystal and also the pearl. To the share of Venus fall the\nsapphire and carbuncle as well as coral and pearl; usually the emerald\nis the stone of Venus. Mars lays claim to the diamond, jacinth, and\nruby, the last-named stone according with the ruddy hue of our neighbor\nplanet. Under the control of Jupiter are placed the emerald, sapphire,\namethyst, and turquoise, so that this planet has the richest assortment\nof gems; it will be remarked that the celestial sapphire unites\nthe influence of Venus and Jupiter, the two especially propitious\nplanets. Lastly, far-away Saturn must be content with all dark, black,\nand brittle stones; there was, indeed, little inducement to wear a\nSaturnian stone, for the influence of this cold and distant planet was\nalways regarded as baleful.\n\n[Illustration: 1. A necklace of banded and variegated agates, onyx,\ncarnelians and sards. First Century A.D.\n\n2. Beads of carnelian artificially marked for \u201cgood luck.\u201d The marking\nis produced by an application of potash and soda. Ancient Persian.]\n\nThe planetary controls of precious stones as given in the Lapidario of\nAlfonso X, according to \u201cChaldaic\u201d tradition, show that the same stone\nwas influenced in many or most cases by more than one of the \u201cseven\nplanets\u201d (including the Sun and Moon). Thus the diamond, belonging to\nthe first degree of the sign Taurus, was dominated by both Saturn and\nthe Sun; the emerald was controlled by Jupiter, and also by Mercury and\nby Venus. The red jargoon was influenced by Mars, the yellow variety\nby Jupiter and the white jargoon by Venus. The carnelian received\nvirtue from the Sun and from Venus. The ruby, although more especially\na sunstone, came as well under the influence of the Planet of Love.\nCoral belonged both to Venus and to the moon, while lapis-lazuli and\nchalcedony only owed allegiance to Venus; this planet also lent virtue\nto the beryl.[454]\n\nAmong the Mohammedans, six of the seven heavens were supposed to be\nmade of precious substances: the first was of emerald; the second, of\nwhite silver; the third, of large white pearls; the fourth, of ruby;\nthe fifth, of red gold; and the sixth, of jacinth. The seventh and\nhighest heaven, however, was of shining light.[455] Here we have the\nthree precious colored stones, emerald, ruby, and sapphire (jacinth),\nto which is added the pearl.\n\nThe scarcity of the diamond in early times, and its comparative lack of\nbrilliancy before the invention of rose and brilliant cutting, account\nfor the absence of this king of gems.\n\nRabelais,[456] describing the temple of the oracle of the \u201cDive\nBouteille,\u201d says that of its seven columns the first was of sapphire;\nthe second, of jacinth; the third, of \u201cdyamant\u201d; the fourth, of\nthe \u201cmale\u201d balas-ruby; the fifth, of emerald, \u201cmore brilliant and\nglistening than were those which were set in place of eyes in the\nmarble lion stretched before the tomb of King Hermias\u201d; the sixth\ncolumn was of agate, and the seventh of transparent selenite, \u201cwith a\nsplendor like that of Hymettian honey, and within appeared the moon in\nform and motion such as she is in the heavens, full and new, waxing\nand waning.\u201d We are then told that these stones were attributed to the\nseven planets by the Chald\u00e6ans, as follows:\n\n  Sapphire                Saturn\n  Jacinth                 Jupiter\n  Diamond                 Sun\n  Ruby                    Mars\n  Emerald                 Venus\n  Agate                   Mercury\n  Selenite                Moon\n\nSome of these attributions differ from those usually made and may\nrepresent another tradition.\n\n\nPLANETARY INFLUENCES OF STONES[457]\n\n  Jasper              Venus and Mercury.\n  Sapphire            Jupiter and Mercury.\n  Emerald             Venus and Mercury.\n  Chalcedony          Jupiter, Mercury, and Saturn.\n  Sardonyx            Saturn and Mars.\n  Chrysolite          Mercury and Venus.\n  Beryl               Venus and Mars.\n  Topaz               Saturn and Mars.\n  Chrysoprase         Mercury and Venus.\n  Jacinth             Mars and Jupiter.\n  Amethyst            Mars and Jupiter.\n  Pearl               Venus and Mercury.\n  Carbuncle           Mars and Venus.\n  Diamond             Jupiter.\n  Agate               Venus and Mars.\n  Alectoria           Sun.\n  Turquoise           Venus and Mercury.\n  Chelidon            Jupiter.\n  \u00c6tites              Sun.\n  Dionesia            Saturn.\n  Hematite            Mercury.\n  Lapis-lazuli        Venus.\n  Armena              Mercury and Venus.\n  Garnet              Sun.\n  Amber               Sun.\n  Jet                 Saturn.\n  Lyncurius           Sun.\n  Crystal             Moon and Mars.\n  Bezoar              Jupiter.\n  Armenia             Jupiter.\n  Selenite            Moon.\n  Magnet              Mars.\n  Judaica,    }\n  Hegolite or }       Mercury.\n  Cogolite    }\n  Iris                Jupiter.\n  Halcyon             Saturn and Mars.\n  Asbestus            Saturn.\n  Sarcophagus         Moon.\n  Arabian, white      Moon.\n  Arabian, green      Jupiter.\n  Hyena               Sun.\n  Androdamas          Moon.\n  Pyrites:\n      Copper-colored  Sun, Venus.\n      Gold-colored    Sun.\n      Silver-colored  Moon.\n      Tin-colored     Moon, Saturn.\n      Ash-colored     Jupiter.\n  Calatia             Moon.\n  Stalactite          Venus.\n  Thenarcus           Sun.\n  Carnelian           Jupiter, Mars, Venus.\n  Opal                Sun, Mercury.\n\nFixed stars associated with precious stones:[458]\n\n  Diamond. Caput Algol 18\u00b0 of Taurus.\n  Crystal. The Pleiades 24\u00b0 of Taurus.\n  Ruby, carbuncle. Aldebaran 3\u00b0 of Gemini; also the Hyades.\n  Sapphire. The Goat 15\u00b0 of Gemini.\n  Beryl. Sirius 10\u00b0 of Cancer.\n  Garnet. Heart of Lion 23\u00b0 of Leo.\n  Magnet. Tail of the Great Bear 8\u00b0 of Scorpio; also the Pole Star.\n  Topaz. Right and left wing of Raven 8\u00b0 of Libra.\n  Emerald and Jasper. Spica Virginis 17\u00b0 of Libra.\n  Amethyst. Scorpion 3\u00b0 of Sagittarius.\n  Chrysolite. Tortoise 8\u00b0 of Capricorn.\n  Chalcedony. Tail of Capricorn 15\u00b0 of Aquarius.\n  Jacinth. Shoulder of Equis Major 18\u00b0 of Pisces.\n  Pearl. Umbilicus Andromed\u00e6 20\u00b0 of Aries.\n  Sardonyx. Same as Topaz.\n\nImages and virtues of the constellations as engraved on gems:[459]\n\n URSA MAJOR, URSA MINOR, AND DRACO. Both bears are represented in the\n folds of a serpent, the Great Bear in the upper and the Lesser Bear in\n the lower folds. In almost all the signs. Nature: Ursa Major, Mars and\n Venus. Ursa Minor: Saturn. Draco: Saturn and Mars. Renders the wearer\n wise, cautious, versatile, and powerful.\n\n The boundary lines of the various signs are carried up to the pole,\n and any constellation that is within these lines is considered to\n belong to the respective sign; thus, every constellation belongs to\n one or more signs.\n\n CORONA BOREALIS. A royal crown, with many stars; sometimes the crowned\n head of a king. Sign: Sagittarius. Nature: Venus and Mercury. Engraved\n on the stone of one who is fitted for honors and knowledge, it gives\n him great favor with kings.\n\n HERCULES. A man with knees bent, holding a club in his hand and\n killing a lion; sometimes a man with a lion\u2019s skin in his hand or on\n his shoulder and holding a club. Sign: Scorpio. Nature: Venus and\n Mercury. Engraved on a stone that brings victory, like the agate, it\n renders the wearer victorious in all conflicts in the field.\n\n CYGNUS. A swan with outstretched wings and curved neck. In the North.\n Nature: Venus and Mercury. Renders the wearer popular, increases\n knowledge, and augments wealth. Cures gout, paralysis, and fever.\n\n CEPHEUS. A man girt with a sword and holding his hands and arms\n extended. Sign: Aries. Nature: Saturn and Jupiter. Causes pleasant\n visions if placed beneath the head of a sleeping person.\n\n CASSIOPEIA. A woman seated in a chair and with hands extended in the\n form of a cross; sometimes with a triangle on her head. Sign: Taurus.\n Nature: Saturn and Venus. Restores the sickly, worn body to health,\n gives quiet and calm after labor and procures pleasant and tranquil\n sleep.\n\n ANDROMEDA. A young girl with dishevelled hair, and hands hanging down.\n Sign: Taurus. Nature: Venus. Reconciles husband and wife, strengthens\n love, and protects the human body from many diseases.\n\n PERSEUS. A man holding a sword in his right hand and the Gorgon\u2019s head\n in his left. Sign: Taurus. Nature: Saturn and Venus. Guards the wearer\n from misfortune and protects, not only the wearer but the place where\n it may be, from lightning and tempest. Dissolves enchantments.\n\n SERPENS. A man in the folds of a serpent and holding its head in his\n right hand and its tail in his left. Sign: Taurus. Nature: Saturn and\n Venus. Antidote to poisons and to the bites of venomous creatures.\n\n AQUILA. A flying eagle with an arrow beneath his feet. Sign: Cancer.\n Nature: Jupiter and Mercury; the arrow, however, is of Mars and Venus.\n Preserves former honors, adds new ones, and helps to victory.\n\n PISCES or DELPHINUS. Figured in relief (?) Sign: Aquarius. Nature:\n Saturn and Mars. If this engraved gem be attached to nets it causes\n them to be filled with fish, and it renders the wearer fortunate in\n fishing.\n\n PEGASUS. Some represent the half of a winged horse; others the whole\n figure and without a bridle. Sign: Aries. Nature: Mars and Jupiter.\n Gives victory in the field, and makes the wearer swift, cautious, and\n bold.\n\n CETUS. Figure of a large fish with curved tail and capacious gullet.\n Sign: Taurus. Nature: Saturn. Renders the wearer fortunate on the sea\n and makes him prudent and agreeable. It also restores lost articles.\n\n ORION. With or without armor, man holding a sword or a scythe in his\n hand. Sign: Gemini. Nature: Jupiter, Saturn, and Mars. Gives the\n wearer victory over his enemies.\n\n NAVIS. A ship with prow curved back and spread sails; sometimes with\n and sometimes without oars. Sign: Leo. Nature: Saturn and Jupiter.\n Renders the wearer fortunate in his undertakings; he runs no risk on\n sea or water, neither can he be injured by water.\n\n CANIS MAJOR. Figure of a dog for coursing hares, with a curved tail.\n Sign: Cancer. Nature: Venus. Cures lunacy, insanity, and demoniacal\n possession.\n\n LEPUS. Figure of a hare with ears pricked up and the feet represented\n as though in swift motion. Sign: Gemini. Nature: Saturn and Mercury.\n Cures frenzy and protects from the wiles of demons. The wearer cannot\n be hurt by a malignant spirit.\n\n CENTAUR. Half-figure of a bull, bearing a man on whose left shoulder\n rests a lance, from which depends a hare. In his right hand the man\n holds a small, supine animal with a vessel attached to it. Sign:\n Libra. Nature: Jupiter and Mars. Gives constancy and perpetual health.\n\n CANIS MINOR. Figure of a dog, sitting. Sign: Cancer. Nature: Jupiter.\n Guards from dropsy, pestilence, and the bites of dogs.\n\n SACRARIUS TURUBULUS (ARA). An altar with burning incense. Sign:\n Sagittarius. Nature: Venus and Mercury. Gives the wearer power to\n recognize spirits, to converse with them, and to command them; also\n confers chastity.\n\n HYDRA. A serpent, having an urn at its head and a raven at its tail.\n Sign: Cancer. Nature: Saturn and Venus. Gives riches and all good\n gifts to the wearer and makes him cautious and prudent.\n\n CORONA AUSTRALIS. An imperial crown. Sign: Libra. Nature: Saturn and\n Mars. Augments wealth and makes the wearer gay and happy.\n\n AURIGA. A man in a chariot, bearing a goat on his left shoulder. Sign:\n Gemini. Nature: Mercury. Makes the wearer successful in hunting.\n\n VEXILLUM. A flag flying from the extremity of a lance. Sign: Scorpion.\n Gives skill in war and confers victory in the field.\n\n\nFIGURES OF THE PLANETS\n\n  SATURN.      An old man holding a curved scythe in his hand and with\n               a not very heavy beard. Engraved on a stone of the\n               nature of Saturn, it renders the wearer powerful and\n               augments his power continually.\n\n  JUPITER.     A seated figure, sometimes in a chariot, holding a staff\n               in one hand and a spear in the other. It renders the wearer\n               fortunate, especially if engraved on a Kabratis stone,\n               and he easily gains what he wishes, especially from\n               priests. He will be raised to honors and dignities.\n\n  MARS.        Represented sometimes with a banner and sometimes\n               with a lance or other weapon. He is, indeed, always\n               armed and at times mounted on a horse. Gives victory,\n               boldness in war, and success in everything, especially if\n               engraved on an appropriate stone.\n\n  SUN.         Sometimes as the solar disk with rays, sometimes as a man\n               in a chariot, and this occasionally is surrounded by the\n               signs of the zodiac. Renders the wearer powerful and a\n               victor; this gem is prized by hunters.\n\n  VENUS.       Many forms, among them that of a woman with a voluminous\n               dress and a stole, holding a laurel in her hand. Gives\n               skill in handling affairs and usually brings them to a\n               successful issue; removes the fear of drowning.\n\n  MERCURY.     Figure of a slender man, usually with a beautiful beard,\n               but sometimes without. He has winged feet and holds the\n               caduceus. Increases knowledge and confers eloquence. It\n               aids merchants, enabling them to acquire wealth.\n\n  MOON.        Various forms. Sometimes as a crescent, sometimes as a\n               young woman in a chariot and holding a quiver, and at\n               others as a woman with a quiver and following the chase\n               with dogs. Aids the fortunes of those who are sent on an\n               embassy, and enables them to acquire wealth and honor\n               thereby. Is said to confer speed and facility in\n               undertakings and a happy issue.[460]\n\nWhen Hudibras attacked and overcame the sorcerer Sidrophal, he rifled\nthe latter\u2019s pockets of all his mystic treasures. Among these were\n\n          Several constellation stones,\n    Engraved in planetary hours,\n    That over mortals had strange powers,\n    To make them thrive in law or trade,\n    And stab or poison to evade,\n    In wit and wisdom to improve,\n    And be victorious in love.[461]\n\nThese manifold influences exerted by the stars and planets through\nthe medium of the gems, not only concerned those actually present\nin a material form, but also those that were seen in dreams, and\ninterpretations of such dreams are given by old writers.\n\n[Illustration: STATUETTE KNOWN AS THAT OF SAINTE FOY, IN THE\nABBEY-CHURCH AT CONQUES, DEPT. AVEYRON, FRANCE.\n\nIt is studded with precious and semi-precious stones and engraved gems,\ndating from various epochs, the pious offerings of those whose prayers\nhave been answered. The figure is 85 cm. (33\u00bd inches) high and is\nof gold in a core of wood. Probably of the tenth century. Two of the\nfour crystal balls adorning the seat are said to replace golden doves.\nRock-crystal was especially dedicated to the moon.]\n\nMany Oneirocritica, or \u201cdream-books,\u201d were written or compiled in the\nearly centuries of our era, one of the most noted being the work of\nArtemidorus, who flourished in the second century A.D. Every object\nseen in a dream was given a special meaning, and it is interesting to\nnote that Artemidorus believed dreams of rings or other ornaments,\nas well as of precious stones, to be of favorable significance only\nfor women. Such dreams indicated marriage for unmarried women, and\nthe birth of children for those already married. If a woman was\nboth wife and mother when she saw sparkling jewels in her dream, then\nthe vision portended the acquisition of great wealth. Artemidorus\nhere sagely remarks that women are by nature devoted to riches and\npassionately fond of ornaments. For men, on the other hand, to dream of\njewels was an ill omen; probably because it foreshadowed the necessity\nof buying them for a good friend or a faithful wife.[462]\n\nAnother of these dream-books, probably composed in the eighth century\nA.D., appears under the name of Achametis and is of Arabic origin. Many\nof the interpretations in this book are referred to a Hindu source,\nand among these are visions of crowns that appear to kings. Such a\ndream, in itself, usually portended increased power and success for\nthe sovereign, but this depended upon the color and character of the\njewels which adorned the crown. For example, we read that if the gems\nwere red and of the kind known as lychnites (carbuncles or rubies), the\ndream indicated that the king would have great joy and good fortune and\nwould be more feared by his enemies than before; but if he saw blue\ngems in the crown, it was a bad omen, foreshadowing the loss of part\nof his kingdom. If the stones were of a light green hue (the color of\nthe leek), the king would gain a great name in the world, both by his\ngood faith and by the greatness of his kingdom; for, the writer adds,\n\u201cthis color in precious stones is universally accepted as signifying\ngood-faith and religious devotion to God.\u201d[463]\n\nThere is signified by dreaming of\n\n  Agates                      A journey.\n  Amber                       A voyage\n  Amethysts                   Freedom from harm.\n  Aquamarines                 New friends.\n  Beryls                      Happiness in store.\n  Bloodstones                 Distressing news.\n  Carbuncles                  Acquirement of wisdom.\n  Carnelians                  Impending misfortune.\n  Cat\u2019s-eyes                  Treachery.\n  Chalcedony                  Friends rejoined.\n  Chrysoberyls                A time of need.\n  Chrysolites                 Necessary caution.\n  Coral                       Recovery from illness.\n  Crystal                     Freedom from enemies.\n  Diamonds                    Victory over enemies.\n  Emeralds                    Much to look forward to.\n  Garnets                     The solution of a mystery.\n  Heliotropes                 Long life.\n  Hyacinths                   A heavy storm.\n  Jacinths                    Success.\n  Jasper                      Love returned.\n  Jet                         Sorrow.\n  Lapis-lazuli                Faithful love.\n  Moonstones                  Impending danger.\n  Moss-agates                 An unsuccessful journey.\n  Onyx                        A happy marriage.\n  Opals                       Great possessions.\n  Pearls                      Faithful friends.\n  Porphyry                    Death.\n  Rubies                      Unexpected guests.\n  Sapphires                   Escape from danger.\n  Sardonyx                    Love of friends.\n  Topaz                       No harm shall befall.\n  Tourmalines                 An accident.\n  Turquoises                  Prosperity.\n\nIf precious stones be so combined in a ring, or other jewel that the\ninitial letters of their names spell words significant of a tender\nsentiment or implying good fortune, or else the name of someone dear\nto the giver of the jewel, this is also supposed to strengthen their\nastral or planetary influence and to render them more potent charms.\nIn the following examples the gems in the first column are the more\nexpensive, those in the second column being comparatively inexpensive\nones.\n\n\nACROSTICS FORMED WITH STONES\n\nIn France and England, during the 18th century, rings, bracelets,\nbrooches, etc., were often set with gems the first letters of which,\ncombined, formed a motto or expressed a sentiment. The following is\na list of those that may be used in this way. The choice of stones\nafforded here brings these pretty devices within the reach of all.\n\n\nFAITH\n\n  Fire-opal.        Feldspar.\n  Alexandrite.      Amethyst.\n  Iolite.           Idocrase.\n  Tourmaline.       Topaz.\n  Hyacinth.         Heliotrope.\n\n\nHOPE\n\n  Hyacinth.         Hematite.\n  Opal.             Olivine.\n  Pearl.            Pyrope.\n  Emerald.          Essonite.\n\n\nCHARITY\n\n  Cat\u2019s-eye.        Carbuncle.\n  Hyacinth.         Hematite.\n  Aquamarine.       Amethyst.\n  Ruby.             Rose quartz.\n  Iolite.           Idocrase.\n  Tourmaline.       Topaz.\n  Yellow sapphire.  Yu (Jade).\n\n\nGOOD LUCK\n\n  Golden beryl.     Garnet.\n  Opal.             Onyx.\n  Olivine.          Obsidian.\n  Diamond.          Dendrite.\n\n  Lapis-lazuli.     Labradorite.\n  Uralian emerald.  Unio pearl.\n  Cat\u2019s-eye.        Carnelian.\n  Kunzite.          Krokidolite.\n\n\nFOREVER\n\n  Fire-opal.        Fl\u00e8ches d\u2019amour.\n  Opal.             Onyx.\n  Ruby.             Rutile.\n  Emerald.          Essonite.\n  Vermeille.        Verd antique.\n  Essonite.         Epidote.\n  Rubellite.        Rose quartz.\n\n\nREGARD\n\n  Ruby.             Rubellite.\n  Emerald.          Essonite.\n  Garnet.           Garnet.\n  Alexandrite.      Amethyst.\n  Ruby.             Rock-crystal.\n  Diamond.          Demantoid.\n\n\n_ZES_\n\nGreek, meaning \u201cMayest thou live.\u201d\n\n  Zircon.           Zonochlorite.\n  Emerald.          Essonite.\n  Sapphire.         Sard.\n\n\nMIZPAH\n\n  Moonstone.        Moldavite.\n  Indicolite.       Idocrase.\n  Zircon.           Zonochlorite.\n  Peridot.          Pyrope.\n  Asteria.          Aquamarine.\n  Hyacinth.         Hematite.\n\n\nFRIENDSHIP\n\n  Fl\u00e8ches d\u2019amour.  Feldspar.\n  Ruby.             Rock crystal.\n  Indicolite.       Idocrase.\n  Emerald.          Epidote.\n  Nephrite.         Nicolo.\n  Diamond.          Diopside.\n  Sapphire.         Sard.\n  Hyacinth.         Hematite.\n  Iolite.           Idocrase.\n  Pearl.            Pyrite.\n\n\nDEAREST\n\n  Diamond.          Demantoid.\n  Emerald.          Essonite.\n  Alexandrite.      Amethyst.\n  Ruby.             Rubellite.\n  Essonite.         Epidote.\n  Sapphire.         Spinel.\n  Turquoise.        Topaz.\n\n\nSOUVENIR\n\n  Sapphire.         Sunstone.\n  Opal.             Onyx.\n  Uralian emerald.  Utahlite.\n  Vermeille.        Verd antique.\n  Emerald.          Epidote.\n  Nephrite.         Nephrite.\n  Iolite.           Indicolite.\n  Ruby.             Rock-crystal.\n\n\nBONHEUR\n\n  Beryl.            Bloodstone.\n  Opal.             Onyx.\n  Nephrite.         Nephrite.\n  Hyacinth.         Hematite.\n  Emerald.          Essonite.\n  Uralian emerald.  Utahlite.\n  Ruby.             Rhodonite.\n\n\nAMITI\u00c9\n\n  Alexandrite.      Almandine.\n  Moonstone.        Moonstone.\n  Indicolite.       Indicolite.\n  Tourmaline.       Topaz.\n  Idocrase.         Idocrase.\n  Emerald.          Essonite.\n\n\nLOVE ME\n\n  Lapis-lazuli.     Labrador spar.\n  Opal.             Onyx.\n  Vermeille.        Verd antique.\n  Emerald.          Essonite.\n\n  Moonstone.        Moonstone.\n  Essonite.         Epidote.\n\n\n_AEI_\n\nGreek, meaning \u201cforever,\u201d \u201ceternity.\u201d\n\n  Alexandrite.      Almandine.\n  Emerald.          Essonite.\n  Indicolite.       Idocrase.\n\nAn attractive engagement ring can be formed of a central diamond from\nwhich extend the rays of a five-pointed star. Between the rays are set\nthe stones emblematic of the zodiacal sign, of the guardian angel of\nthe month, of the planet control of the hour and also the two stones\nindicating the initial letter of the two Christian names. This ring is\nin the form of the mystic Pentagon, the grand symbol of constancy and\ndurability, since the number five is composed of three, which signifies\ncreative power, and two, which typifies the balance, that is, stability.\n\nAs, according to the old fancy, the influences due to the light\nemanations from the planets or fixed stars, or from the combination\nof the stars in a zodiacal sign, would have a peculiar and more or\nless intimate connection with the fate of one country rather than of\nanother, an attempt is here made to give a characteristic stone for\neach country. In the case of the United States the various gem-stones\nfound within the boundaries of each of the States of the Union are\ngiven. That this special influence was exceptionally potent in regard\nto those born in the countries in question was also taught and hence a\nnational gem would have a greater talismanic power than any other for\nthe natives of each separate country. For those who may feel a certain\ndegree of sympathy for time-honored fancies, and who may perhaps\nalso have a trace of superstition hidden away in some part of their\nconsciousness, one of our State gems would have a similar significance.\n\n\nGEMS OF COUNTRIES\n\n  Alaska                            Garnet\n  Algiers                           Coral\n  Arabia                            Pearl\n  Austria-Hungary                   Opal\n  Belgium                           Crystal\n  Bohemia                           Garnet\n  Bokhara                           Lapis-lazuli\n  Bolivia                           Lapis-lazuli\n  Brazil                            Tourmaline (Brazilian emerald)\n  Burma                             Ruby\n  Canada                            Sodalite\n  Ceylon                            Cat\u2019s-eye\n  Chili                             Lapis-lazuli\n  China                             Jade\n  Congo                             Dioptase\n  Denmark                           Agate\n  Egypt                             Peridot\n  England                           Diamond\n  France                            Pearl\n  Germany                           Amber\n  German West Africa                Diamond\n  Greece                            Sapphire\n  Holland                           Diamond\n  Hungary                           Opal\n  India                             Pearl\n  Ireland                           Precious serpentine (Connemara)\n  Italy                             Coral\n  Japan                             Rock-crystal\n  Korea                             Abalone pearl\n  Madagascar                        Morganite\n  Mexico                            Obsidian\n  Morocco                           Coral\n  New England                       Tourmaline\n  New South Wales                   Opal\n  New Zealand                       Jade\n  Norway-Sweden                     Carnelian\n  Panama                            Agate\n  Persia                            Turquoise\n  Peru                              Emerald\n  Philippines                       Pearl\n  Portugal                          Chrysoberyl\n  Roumania                          Amber\n  Russia                            Rhodonite\n  Sandwich Islands                  Olivine\n  Scotland                          Cairngorm (smoky quartz)\n  Servia                            Coral\n  Siam                              Ruby\n  Sicily                            Amber\n  South Africa                      Diamond\n  Spain                             Emerald\n  Switzerland                       Rock-crystal\n  Turkestan                         Jade\n  Turkey                            Turquoise\n  United States                     Sapphire\n  Uruguay                           Amethyst\n\n\nUNITED STATES STONES\n\nPrecious, semi-precious, or gem stones are found in nearly every State\nof the Union. The most important are enumerated below:\n\n  _Alabama_            Beryl, blue and yellow; smoky quartz.\n  _Arizona_            Agatized wood, azur-malachite, turquoise, garnet,\n                       peridot.\n  _Arkansas_           Rock-crystal, smoky quartz, agate, diamond,\n                       novaculite.\n  _California_         Agate, benitoite, californite, diamond, gold\n                       quartz, tourmaline, abalone pearl, chrysoprase,\n                       kunzite, morganite.\n  _Colorado_           Beryl, aquamarine, phenacite, garnet, amethyst,\n                       agate, gold quartz, pyrite.\n  _Connecticut_        Beryl, yellow and green; rose quartz, tourmaline\n  _Delaware_           Pearl.\n  _Florida_            Chalcedony, conch pearl.\n  _Georgia_            Ruby, beryl, amethyst, gold quartz, garnet.\n  _Idaho_              Opal, agate, obsidian.\n  _Illinois_           Fluorite, pearl.\n  _Indian Territory_   Obsidian, pearl.\n  _Indiana_            Pearl.\n  _Iowa_               Fossil coral, pearl, chalcedony.\n  _Kansas_             Chalcedony.\n  _Kentucky_           Pearl.\n  _Louisiana_          Chalcedony.\n  _Maine_              Tourmaline, beryl, rose quartz, pearl, topaz,\n                       amazonite, smoky quartz, rock-crystal.\n  _Maryland_           Beryl, clam-pearl.\n  _Massachusetts_      Beryl.\n  _Michigan_           Agate, hematite.\n  _Minnesota_          Chlorastrolite, thomsonite, agate.\n  _Mississippi_        Pearl, chalcedony.\n  _Missouri_           Pearl, fluorite, pyrite.\n  _Montana_            Sapphire, beryl, smoky quartz, agate, amethyst,\n                       agatized wood, obsidian.\n  _Nebraska_           Chalcedony, pearl.\n  _Nevada_             Gold quartz, rock-crystal.\n  _New Hampshire_      Beryl, rock-crystal, garnet.\n  _New Jersey_         Fowlerite, willemite, prehnite, smoky quartz,\n                       agate, pearl.\n  _New Mexico_         Turquoise, garnet, obsidian, peridot, rock-crystal.\n  _New York_           Beryl, brown tourmaline, rose quartz, fresh-water\n                       pearl, clam-pearl, chondrodite.\n  _North Carolina_     Aquamarine, beryl, emerald, almandite garnet,\n                       rhodolite, prope garnet, diamond, cyanite,\n                       hiddenite, amethyst, ruby, sapphire, smoky quartz,\n                       rock-crystal, rutile.\n  _North Dakota_       Chalcedony, agate.\n  _Ohio_               Fossil coral, chalcedony.\n  _Oregon_             Agate, obsidian, hydrolite.\n  _Pennsylvania_       Amethyst, beryl, sunstone, moonstone, amazonite,\n                       almandite garnet, pyrope garnet, rutile.\n  _Rhode Island_       Hornblende in quartz, amethyst, rock-crystal.\n  _South Carolina_     Beryl, smoky quartz, rock-crystal.\n  _South Dakota_       Quartzite, beryl, agate.\n  _Tennessee_          Pearl.\n  _Texas_              Beryl, pearl, tourmaline.\n  _Utah_               Topaz, garnet.\n  _Virginia_           Amethyst, spessarite, garnet, beryl, moonstone,\n                       staurolite, allanite.\n  _Vermont_            Beryl, pearl.\n  _Washington_         Pearl, agate.\n  _West Virginia_      Rock-crystal.\n  _Wisconsin_          Agate, pearl.\n  _Wyoming_            Moss-agate, agate.\n\n\n\n\nXI\n\nOn the Therapeutic Use of Precious and Semi-Precious Stones\n\n\nThe medicinal use of precious stones may be traced back to very ancient\ntimes. It has been conjectured that their employment for such purposes\nwas introduced to Europe from India, whence many of the stones were\nderived. Nevertheless, the earliest evidence we have rather points to\nEgypt as the source, and, indeed, it appears that in early Egyptian\ntimes the chemical constituents of the stones were much more rationally\nconsidered than at a later period in Europe. The Ebers Papyrus,\nfor instance, recommends the use of certain astringent substances,\nsuch as lapis-lazuli, as ingredients of eye-salves, and hematite,\nan iron oxide, was used for checking hemorrhages and for reducing\ninflammations. Little by little, however, superstition associated\ncertain special virtues with the color and quality of precious stones,\nand their virtues were thought to be greatly enhanced by engraving on\nthem the image of some god, or of some object symbolizing certain of\nthe activities of nature. Later still, the science of astrology, most\nhighly developed in Assyria and Babylonia, was brought into combination\nwith the various superstitions above indicated, so that the image was\nbelieved to have much greater efficacy if the engraving were executed\nwhen the sun was in a certain constellation or when the moon or some\none of the planets was in the ascendant at the time.\n\nIf we exclude certain fragmentary notices in Egyptian\nliterature\u2014notably the statements in the Ebers Papyrus\u2014and the very\nuncertain sources in Hindu literature, the earliest authority for\nthis branch of the subject is the Natural History of Pliny. In this\nconnection, however, it is only just to call attention to a fact which\nhas been often ignored\u2014namely, that Pliny himself had very little\nfaith in the teachings of the \u201cmagi,\u201d as he calls them, in regard to\nthe superstitious use of gems for the prevention or cure of diseases;\nindeed, he seems to have been almost as sceptical in his attitude as\nmany modern writers, for certain quite recent authorities still credit\namber and a few other mineral substances with therapeutic effects other\nthan those which can be explained by the known action of their chemical\nconstituents. Still, Pliny yielded so far to the taste of his time as\nto preserve for us many of the statements of earlier writers on the\nsubject, naming them in most cases and so enabling us to form some idea\nof the character of this pseudo-science in the Roman world in the first\ncentury of our era. With the gradual decay of ancient learning, the\nless valuable elements of popular belief came more and more into the\nforeground, and the old superstitions were freely copied by successive\nauthors, each of whom felt called upon to add something new on his own\naccount. This explains much of the confusion that reigns in regard\nto the attribution of special virtues to the different stones, for\nthe wider the reading of the author the greater became the number of\nvirtues attributed to each separate stone, until, at last, we might\nalmost say that each and every precious stone could be used for the\ncure of all diseases. Nevertheless, it is comparatively easy to see\nthat either the color or constitution of the stone originally indicated\nits use for this or that disease.\n\n[Illustration: INSCRIPTION ON A SMALL PIECE OF LIMESTONE, IN CURSIVE\nEGYPTIAN WRITING.\n\nIt dates from about 1600 B.C., the period of the Ebers Papyrus, and\ngives directions for preparing certain remedies from precious stones.\nWhile the interpretation of this text offers considerable difficulty,\none version finds in it the statement that lapis-lazuli\u2014the \u201csapphire\u201d\nof the ancients\u2014was used for the wealthy, and malachite for those of\nlimited means. Professor Oefele conjectures that the disease to be\ntreated was hysteria. Munch Collection, Metropolitan Museum of Art, New\nYork.]\n\nA distinction is often made between the talismanic qualities of\nprecious stones for the cure or prevention of disease and the properly\nmedicinal use of them as mineral substances. In the former case the\neffect was attained by merely wearing them on the person, while in the\nlatter case they were reduced to a powder, which was dissolved as far\nas possible in water or some other liquid and then taken internally.\nAs, however, the end to be attained is the same whether the stone be\nworn or taken internally as a powder or liquid, it seems more logical\nto treat of both these methods of therapeutic use together, reserving\nfor the chapter on the talismanic use of gems only their employment\nto avert misfortunes other than those caused by disease, and their\ninfluence in the procuring of wealth, honors, and happiness for their\nwearers.\n\nThe belief in the curative properties of precious stones was at one\ntime universal among all those to whom gems were known. When we read\nto-day of the various ills that were supposed to be cured by the use of\nthese gems, we find it difficult to understand what process of thought\ncould have suggested the idea of employing such ineffectual remedies.\nIt is true that the constituents of certain stones can be absorbed by\nthe human body and have a definite effect upon it, but the greater part\nof the elements are so combined that they cannot be assimilated, and\nthey pass through the system without producing any apparent effect.\n\nIn ancient and medieval times, however, other than chemical agencies\nwere supposed to be efficient in the cure of diseases, and the\nprimitive animistic conception of the cause of illness, and hence of\nthe therapeutics of disease, long held sway among those who practised\nthe medical art. Remedies were prized because of their rarity, and also\nbecause it was believed that certain spiritual or planetary influences\nhad aided in their production and were latent in them. Besides this,\nthe symbolism of color played a very important part in recommending\nthe use of particular stones for special diseases. This may be noted\nin the case of the red or reddish stones, such as the ruby, spinel,\ngarnet, carnelian, bloodstone, etc. These were thought to be sovereign\nremedies for hemorrhages of all kinds, as well as for all inflammatory\ndiseases; they were also believed to exercise a calming influence and\nto remove anger and discord. The red hue of these stones was supposed\nto indicate their fitness for such use, upon the principle _similia\nsimilibus curantur_. In the same way yellow stones were prescribed for\nthe cure of bilious disorders, for jaundice in all its forms and for\nother diseases of the liver.\n\nThe use of green stones to relieve diseases of the eye was evidently\nsuggested by the beneficial influence exerted by this color upon the\nsight. The verdant emerald represented the beautiful green fields, upon\nwhich the tired eye rests so willingly, and which exert such a soothing\ninfluence upon the sight when it has been unduly strained or fatigued.\nOne of the earliest, probably the very earliest reference in Greek\nwritings to the therapeutic value of gems, appears in the works of\nTheophrastus, who wrote in the third century before Christ. Here we are\ntold of the beneficial effect exercised by the emerald upon the eyes.\n\n[Illustration: 1. Necklace of carnelian beads. Persian. The decoration\nis made with carbonate of lime and fixed by firing. Charms against the\nEvil Eye.\n\n2. Necklace of onyx beads. Early Christian.]\n\nThe sapphire, the lapis-lazuli, and other blue stones, with a hue\nresembling the blue of the heavens, were believed to exert a tonic\ninfluence, and were supposed to counteract the wiles of the spirits\nof darkness and procure the aid and favor of the spirits of light and\nwisdom. These gems were usually looked upon as emblems of chastity,\nand for this reason the sapphire came to be regarded as especially\nappropriate for use in ecclesiastical rings. Among purple stones,\nthe amethyst is particularly noteworthy. The well-known belief that\nthis gem counteracted the effects of undue indulgence in intoxicating\nbeverages is indicated by its name, derived from \u03bc\u03b5\u03b8\u03cd\u03c9\u2014\u201cto be\nintoxicated,\u201d and the privative \u03b1, the name thus signifying the\n\u201csobering\u201d gem. It is not unlikely that a fancied resemblance between\nthe prevailing hue of these stones and that of certain kinds of wine\nfirst gave rise to the name and to the idea of the peculiar virtues of\nthe amethyst.\n\nWe have mentioned only a few of the more obvious analogies suggested\nby the color of gems, and we might be tempted to cite many others were\nit not that symbolism is always treacherous ground, since there is\npractically no limit to the correspondences that may be found between\nsensuous impressions and ideas.\n\nOne great difficulty which besets any one who is trying to find a clue\nto guide him through the labyrinth of the medical affinities of gems is\nthe fact that there was, from an early period, a tendency to attribute\nthe virtues of one gem to another, probably owing to the commercial\ninstinct which urged the dealer to praise his wares in every possible\nway, so that no part of his stock should fail to find a purchaser. This\ntendency is especially marked in the old Hindu Lapidaries, wherein\nit is almost impossible to find any differentiation of the stones in\nrespect to their curative or talismanic virtues. Only the condition and\nperfection of the gems are made the criterion of their worth. Any given\nstone, if perfect, was a source of all blessings to the wearer and\npossessed all remedial powers, while a defective stone, or one lacking\nthe proper lustre or color, was destined to be a source of untold\nmisfortune to the owner.\n\nThe European writers on the medical properties of precious stones were\ninfluenced by quite different considerations; their chief aim was to\nrepresent each stone, regarded simply as a mineral substance, as being\nthe abode of the greatest possible number of curative properties.\nIndeed, many of the most highly recommended electuaries contained all\nkinds of stones, as though the effect to be produced did not depend\nupon the qualities of any single stone, or class of stones, but rather\nupon the quantity used. In Arnobio\u2019s \u201cTesoro delle Gioie,\u201d[464] we have\na receipt for the composition of \u201cthe most noble electuary of jacinth.\u201d\nThis contains jacinth, emerald, sapphire, topaz, garnet, pearl, ruby,\nwhite and red coral, and amber, as well as many animal and vegetable\nsubstances, in all, thirty-four ingredients. It would indeed seem that\na good dose of such a mixture should have provided a cure for \u201call\nthe ills that flesh is heir to,\u201d by the simple and effective means of\nremoving the unhappy patient to a better world.\n\nTreating of the metallic affinities of precious stones, Paracelsus\n(1493-1541) affirmed that the emerald was a copper stone; the carbuncle\nand the jasper were golden stones; the ruby and the chalcedony, silver\nstones. The \u201cwhite sapphire\u201d (corundum) was a stone of Jupiter, while\nthe jacinth was a mercurial stone. Powdered jacinth mixed with an equal\nquantity of laudanum was recommended as a remedy for fevers resulting\nfrom \u201cputrefaction of the air or water.\u201d This illustrates the custom of\ncombining an inefficacious material, such as the powder of a precious\nstone, with another possessing genuine remedial virtue, the name of the\nstone appealing to the popular superstitions regarding its therapeutic\npowers, and thus rendering the preparation more acceptable.[465]\n\nIt is related by Plutarch that when Pericles was dying of the plague,\nhe showed to one of his friends, who was visiting him, an amulet\nsuspended from his neck. This had been given to Pericles by the women\nof his household, and Plutarch cites the instance as a proof that even\nthe strongest minds will at certain times yield to the influence of\nsuperstition.[466]\n\nThere were sceptics in ancient times who put no faith in the popular\nsuperstitions as to the curative powers of precious stones. Eusebius\n(ca. 264-ca. 349), in his oration on the Emperor Constantine the Great\n(272-337), says:[467]\n\n He held that the varieties of stones so greatly admired were useless\n and ineffective things. They possessed no other qualities than their\n natural ones, and hence no efficacy to hold evils aloof; for what\n power can such things have either to cure disease or to avert death?\n Nevertheless, although he well knew this, he was in no wise opposed to\n their use simply as ornaments by his subjects.\n\nThe Middle High German didactic poem on precious stones, composed\nby Volmar, or Volamar, about 1250, appears to have been written as\na rejoinder to a satirical poem, the work of a writer called the\n\u201cStricker\u201d (rascal). What chiefly aroused Volmar\u2019s wrath was the fact\nthat this irreverent personage dared to assert that a piece of colored\nglass set in a ring looked just as well and possessed the same virtues\nas a genuine precious stone of the same color. Volmar does not mince\nmatters, and roundly declares that whoever should kill the man who\nwrote thus would do no sinful act. While we can scarcely recommend such\ndrastic action, we must admit that we feel a little sympathy with the\nmedieval champion of genuine stones against imitations.\n\nA most interesting item recording one phase of a great tyrant\u2019s\ncharacter is reported by Sir Jerome Horsey, who was entrusted with\nmessages to and from Elizabeth of England and Ivan the Terrible of\nRussia. He gives, in his \u201cTravels,\u201d a graphic recital of an interview\nwith Ivan just before the latter\u2019s death in 1584. We retain the archaic\nspelling as it is reproduced in the Hakluyt publication from the\noriginal manuscript. Writing of Ivan, Horsey says:[468]\n\n Carried every daye in his chair into his treasure. One daye the prince\n beckoned me to follow. I strode emonge the rest venturously, and\n heard him call for som precious stones and jewells. Told the prince\n and nobles present before and aboute him the virtue of such and such,\n which I observed, and do pray I may a littell degress to declare for\n my own memorie sake.\n\n[Illustration: Facsimile page of Italian vellum manuscript treatise of\nthe virtues of gems. Italian MS. of the Fourteenth Century in author\u2019s\nlibrary.\n\nTreating of Topaz, Turquoise, Jacinth, Garnet, Chalcedony,\nRock-crystal, Coral.]\n\n \u201cThe load-stone you all know hath great and hidden vertue, without\n which the seas that compas the world ar not navigable, nor the bounds\n nor circles of the earth cannot be knowen. Mahomett, the Percians\n proffit, his tombe of steell hangs in their Repatta at Darbent most\n miraculously\u201d\u2014Caused the waiters to bringe a chaine of nedells\n towched by his load-stone, hanged all one by the other.\u2014\u201cThis faire\n currell (coral) and this faire turcas you see; take in your hand;\n of his natur arr orient coullers; put them on my hand and arm. I am\n poisoned with disease: you see they shewe their virtue by the chainge\n of their pure culler into pall: declares my death. Reach owt my\n staff roiall; an unicorns horn garnished with verie fare diomondes,\n rubies, saphiers, emeralls and other precious stones that ar rich\n in vallew; cost 70 thousand marckes sterlinge of David Gower from\n the fowlkers of Ousborghe.[469] Seek owt for som spiders.\u201d Caused\n his phiziccians, Johannes Lloff, to scrape a circle thereof upon the\n tabell; putt within it one spider and so one other and died, and some\n other without that ran alive apace from it.\u2014\u201cIt is too late, it\n will not preserve me. Behold these precious stones. This diomond is\n the orients richest and most precious of all other. I never affected\n it; yt restreyns furie and luxurie and abstinacie and chasticie;\n the least parcell of it in powder will poysen a horse geaven to\n drinck, much more a man.\u201d Poynts at the ruby. \u201cOh! this is most\n comfortable to the hart, braine, vigar and memorie of man, clarifies\n congelled and corrupt bloud.\u201d\u2014Then at the emerald.\u2014\u201cThe natur of\n the reyn-bowe; this precious stone is an enemye to uncleanness. The\n saphier I greatlie delight in; yt preserves and increaseth courage,\n joies the hart, pleasinge to all the vitall sensis, precious and verie\n soveraigne for the eys, clears the sight, takes awaye bloudshott and\n streingthens the mussells and strings thereof.\u201d\u2014Then takes the onex\n in hand.\u2014\u201cAll these are Gods wonderfull guifts, secreats in natur,\n and yet revells [reveals] them to mans use and contemplacion, as\n frendes to grace and vertue and enymies to vice. I fainte, carie me\n awaye till an other tyme.\u201d\n\nSome believed that when precious stones were worn to relieve or prevent\ndisease, it was important that the different stones should be worn on\ndifferent parts of the body. According to one authority, the jacinth\nshould be worn on the neck; the diamond, on the left arm; the sapphire,\non the ring-finger; the emerald, or the jacinth, on the index-finger;\nand the ruby or turquoise, on either the index-finger or the little\nfinger.[470] There is, however, little reason to assume that these\nrules were generally known and observed.\n\nThat precious stones not only appealed to the eye by their beautiful\ncolors, but also possessed a fragrant odor, was one of the many\nfanciful ideas regarding them. If we could believe the following\ncircumstantial account, this was once experimentally proved:[471]\n\n When precious stones are to be used in medicine, they must be\n pulverized until they are reduced to a powder so fine that it will\n not grate under the teeth, or, in the words of Galen, this powder\n must be as impalpable \u201cas that which is blown into the eyes.\u201d Since\n this trituration is not usually operated with sufficient care by the\n apothecaries, I begged a medical student, who was lodging with me,\n to pass an entire month in grinding some of these stones. I gave him\n emeralds, jacinths, sapphires, rubies, and pearls, an ounce of each\n kind. As these stones were rough and whole, he first crushed them a\n little in a well-polished iron mortar, using a pestle of the same\n metal; afterward he employed a pestle and mortar of glass, devoting\n several hours each day to this work. At the end of about three weeks,\n his room, which was rather large, became redolent with a perfume,\n agreeable both from its variety and sweetness. This odor, which much\n resembled that of March violets, lingered in the room for more than\n three days. There was nothing in the room to produce it, so that it\n certainly proceeded from the powder of precious stones.\n\n\nDiamond\n\nOf the many medicinal virtues attributed to the diamond, one of the\nmost noteworthy is that of an antidote for poisons. Strangely enough,\nthe belief in its efficacy in this respect was coupled with the idea\nthat the stone in itself was a deadly poison. The origin of this\nlatter fancy must be sought in the tradition that the place wherein\nthe diamonds were generated\u2014\u201cin the land where it is six months\nday and six months night\u201d\u2014was guarded by venomous creatures who,\nin passing over the stones, were wounded by the sharp points of the\ncrystals, and thus embued the stones with some of their venom.[472]\nThe attribution of curative properties in case of poisoning arose from\nassociation of ideas. The Lapidario of Alfonso X recommends the diamond\nfor diseases of the bladder; it adds, however, that this stone should\nbe used only in desperate cases.\n\n[Illustration: INITIALS FROM THE LAPIDARIO DE ALFONSO X (XIII CENTURY).\n\nCodice Original (fol. 6), published in Madrid, 1881. That on the left\nfigures \u201cthe stone found in the sea when the planet Mars rises\u201d; that\non the right, \u201cthe stone that attracts glass.\u201d Author\u2019s library.]\n\n[Illustration: INITIALS FROM THE LAPIDARIO DE ALFONSO X.\n\nCodice Original (fol. 4), published in Madrid, 1881. On the left, \u201cthe\nstone that recoils from milk\u201d; on the right, pearl-fishers.]\n\nThe diamond was also believed to afford protection from plague or\npestilence, and a proof of its powers in this direction was found in\nthe fact that the plague first attacked the poorer classes, sparing the\nrich, who could afford to adorn themselves with diamonds. Naturally, in\ncommon with other precious stones, this brilliant gem was supposed to\ncure many diseases. Marbodus[473] tells us that it was even a cure for\ninsanity.\n\nIn the Babylonian Talmud we read of a marvellous precious stone\nbelonging to Abraham. This was perhaps a diamond, or possibly a pearl;\nthe accounts vary, and the same word is often used to designate\n\u201cprecious stone\u201d and \u201cpearl.\u201d The following version represents it to be\na diamond:[474]\n\nR. Simeon, ben Johanan said: \u201cA diamond was hanging on Abraham\u2019s neck,\nand when a sick man looked upon it he was cured. And when Abraham\npassed away, the Lord sealed it in the planet of the sun.\u201d\n\nThe Hindus believed that it was extremely dangerous to use diamonds\nof inferior quality for curative purposes, as they would not only\nfail to remedy the disease for which they were prescribed, but might\ncause lameness, jaundice, pleurisy, and even leprosy. As to the use\nof diamonds of good quality, very explicit directions are given. On\nsome day regarded as auspicious for the operation, the stone was to\nbe dipped in the juice of the _kantak\u00e1ra_ (_Solanum jaquiri_) and\nsubjected for a whole night to the heat of a fire made by dried pieces\nof the dung of a cow or of a buffalo. In the morning it was to be\nimmersed in cow\u2019s urine and again subjected to fire. These processes\nwere to be repeated for seven days, at the end of which term the\ndiamond could be regarded as purified. After this the stone was to be\nburied in a paste of certain leguminous seeds mixed with asaf\u0153tida and\nrock salt. Herein it was to be heated twenty-one successive times,\nwhen it would be reduced to ashes. If these ashes were then dissolved\nin some liquid, the potion would \u201cconduce to longevity, general\ndevelopment of the body, strength, energy, beauty of complexion, and\nhappiness,\u201d giving an adamantine strength to the limbs.[475]\n\nAn Austrian nobleman, who for a long time had not been able to sleep\nwithout having terrible dreams, was immediately cured by wearing a\nsmall diamond set in gold on his arm, so that the stone came in contact\nwith his skin.[476]\n\nThe fact that in this case, as in many others, the stone was required\nto touch the skin, proves that the effect supposed to be produced was\nnot altogether magical, but in the nature of a physical emanation from\nthe stone to the body of the wearer.\n\nWe are told that when Pope Clement VII was seized by his last illness,\nin 1534, his physicians resorted to powders composed of various\nprecious stones. In the space of fourteen days they are asserted to\nhave given the pope forty thousand ducats\u2019 worth of these stones,\na single dose costing as much as three thousand ducats. The most\ncostly remedy of all was a diamond administered to him at Marseilles.\nUnfortunately, this lavish expenditure was of no avail; indeed,\naccording to our modern science, the remedies might have sufficed to\nend the pope\u2019s life, without the help of his disease.[477]\n\nThe old fancy that the diamond grew dark in the presence of poison\nis explained by the Italian physician Gonelli as caused by minute\nand tenuous particles which emanated from the poison, impinged upon\nthe surface of the diamond, and, unable to penetrate its dense mass,\naccumulated on the surface, thus producing a superficial discoloration.\nThe diamond, being a cold substance, may have condensed moisture from\nthe body, and the one suffering from the poison may have emitted\nexudations. But this elaborate explanation of a phenomenon which\nnever existed except in the imagination of those who related it is\ncharacteristic of Gonelli, who was always ready to elucidate in\nsome similar way any of the marvels recounted in regard to precious\nstones.[478]\n\n\nEmerald\n\nThe emerald was employed as an antidote for poisons and for poisoned\nwounds, as well as against demoniacal possession.[479] If worn on the\nneck it was said to cure the \u201csemitertian\u201d fever and epilepsy.[480]\nThe use of the emerald to rest and relieve the eye is the only remedial\nuse of a precious stone mentioned by Theophrastus in his treatise on\ngems, written in the third century B.C. Alluding to its powers as an\nantidote for poisons, Rueus asserts[481] that if the weight of eighty\nbarley-corns of its powder were given to one dying from the effects\nof poison, the dose would save his life. The Arabs prized emeralds\nhighly for this purpose, and Abenzoar states that, having once taken a\npoisonous herb, he placed an emerald in his mouth and applied another\nto his stomach, whereupon he was entirely cured.[482]\n\nA certain cure for dysentery also was to wear an emerald suspended\nso that it touched the abdomen and to place another emerald in the\nmouth. Michaele Paschali, a learned Spanish physician of the sixteenth\ncentury, declared that he had effected a cure of the disease by means\nof the emerald in the case of Juan de Mendoza, a Spanish grandee,\nand Wolfgang Gabelchover, of Calw, in W\u00fcrtemberg, writing in 1603,\nasserts that he had often tested the virtues of the emerald in cases of\ndysentery and with invariable success.[483]\n\nIt speaks not a little for the beauty of the emerald that so good a\njudge of precious stones as Pliny should have pronounced this gem to\nbe the only one that delighted the eye without fatiguing it, adding\nthat when the vision was wearied by gazing intently at other objects,\nit gained renewed strength by viewing an emerald. So general in the\nearly centuries of our era was the persuasion that the pure green hue\nof emeralds aided the eyesight, that gem engravers are said to have\nkept some of them on their work-tables, so as to be able to look at\nthe stones from time to time and thus relieve the eye-strain caused by\nclose application to their delicate task.[484]\n\nPsellus says that a cataplasm made of emeralds was of help to those\nsuffering from leprosy; he adds that if pulverized and taken in water\nthey would check hemorrhages.[485] They were especially commended\nfor use as amulets to be hung on the necks of children, as they were\nbelieved to ward off and prevent epilepsy. If, however, the violence of\nthe disease was such that it could not be overcome by the stone, the\nlatter would break.[486] Hermes Trismegistus says the emerald cures\nophthalmia and hemorrhages. The great Hermes must have had a special\npreference for this stone, since his treatise on chemistry (_peri\nchemeias_) is said to have been found inscribed on an emerald.[487]\n\nBy the Hindu physicians of the thirteenth century the emerald was\nconsidered to be a good laxative. It cured dysentery, diminished the\nsecretion of bile, and stimulated the appetite. In short, it promoted\nbodily health and destroyed demoniacal influences. In the curious\nphrase of the school the emerald was \u201ccold and sweet.\u201d[488]\n\nTeifashi (1242 A.D.) believed that the emerald was a cure for\nh\u00e6moptysis and for dysentery if it were worn over the liver of the\nperson affected; to cure gastric troubles, the stone was to be laid\nupon the stomach. Furthermore, the wearer was protected from the\nattacks of venomous creatures, and evil spirits were driven from the\nplace where emeralds were kept.[489] The direction to place the stone\non the affected part, a recommendation often met with in the treatises\non the therapeutic use of ornamental stones, shows that these were\nbelieved to send forth emanations of subtle power. Probably enough, the\nbrilliant play of reflected light which proceeds from many of these\ngems suggested the idea that they radiated a certain curative energy.\nThis theory need not surprise us, for, although it is altogether\nfanciful in the case of the diamond, ruby, emerald, etc., the newly\ndiscovered substance, radium, really possesses the active properties\nascribed by old writers to precious stones.\n\n\nJade\n\nA stone the therapeutic quality of which was specialized is the jade or\nnephrite. Strange to say, although there are very few places where this\nmineral can now be obtained,\u2014the chief sources of supply being the\nprovince of Khotan in Turkistan and New Zealand,\u2014in prehistoric times\nthe stone must have been found in many different localities, since\naxe-heads and other artefacts of jade have been discovered in many\nlands both of the old and new world.\n\nWhen the Spaniards discovered and explored the southern part of the\nAmerican continent, they came across numerous native ornaments and\namulets made of jade (jadeite) and brought many of these with them to\nEurope. The name jade is derived from the Spanish designation, _piedra\nde hijada_, meaning literally \u201cstone of the flank,\u201d which is said to\nhave been bestowed on the stone because the Indians used it for all\ndiseases of the kidneys. The name nephrite owes its origin to the\nsame idea. In ancient times jade appears to have been looked upon as\na great aid in parturition, and many ingenious conjectures have been\nadvanced as to the connection between this belief and the form of some\nof the prehistoric objects made of this material. Whether the Spaniards\nreally learned from the Indians that the stone was especially adapted\nto cure renal diseases, or whether they only suggested this special\nand peculiar virtue in order to give an enhanced value to their jade\nornaments, is a question not easily answered.\n\nAn early notice of jade as a remedial agent appears in Sir Walter\nRaleigh\u2019s account of his travels in Guiana. Treating of a people\nof \u201cAmazons\u201d said to dwell in the interior of the country, Raleigh\nsays:[490]\n\n These Amazones have likewise great store of these plates of golde,\n which they recover by exchange, chiefly for a kinde of greene stone,\n which the Spaniards call Piedras Hijadas, and we use for spleene\n stones and for the disease of the stone we also esteeme them: of these\n I saw divers in Guiana, and commonly every King or _Casique_ hath one,\n which theire wives for the most part weare, and they esteeme them as\n great jewels.\n\nBy the middle of the seventeenth century the curative powers of\njade for the various forms of calculi was very generally admitted.\nA singular instance is offered us in one of Voiture\u2019s letters.\nHe was a great sufferer from \u201cthe stone\u201d and he had received,\nfrom a Mademoiselle Paulet, a beautiful jade bracelet. Gratefully\nacknowledging the receipt of this peculiar gift, he expresses himself\nin the following frank way, a mixture of indelicacy and gallantry\nthat seems strange to us: \u201cIf the stones you have given me do not\nbreak mine, they will at least make me bear my sufferings patiently;\nand it seems to me that I ought not to complain of my colic, since it\nhas procured me this happiness.\u201d The name used for jade by Voiture,\n\u201c_l\u2019\u00e9jade_,\u201d supplied a missing link in the derivation of our name\njade from the Spanish _hijada_. When the lady\u2019s gift was received by\nVoiture, some friends chanced to be present, and they were disposed to\nregard it as a token of love until he assured them that it was only\na remedy. It appears that Mlle. Paulet was a fellow sufferer, and,\nalluding to this, Voiture writes: \u201cOn this occasion the jade had for\nyou an effect you did not expect from it, and its virtue defended your\nown.\u201d[491]\n\nRenal calculi and poetry do not seem to have much in common, but the\nfollowing lines freely rendered from an old Italian poem on the subject\nby Ciri de Pers show that even this unpromising theme is susceptible of\npoetic treatment:[492]\n\n    \u201cOther white stones serve to mark happy days,\n    But mine do mark days full of pain and gloom.\n    To build a palace, or a temple fair,\n    Stones should be used; but mine do serve\n    To wreck the fleshly temple of my soul.\n\n           *       *       *       *       *\n\n    Well do I know that Death doth whet his glaive\n    Upon these stones, and that the marble white\n    That grows in me is there to form my tomb.\u201d\n\nAs jade was and still is the most favored stone in China, although\nnever found within the boundaries of China proper, it was very\nnaturally accorded wonderful medical virtues. An old Chinese\nencyclopedia, the work of Li She Chan, and presented by him to the\nemperor Wan Lih of the Ming dynasty, in 1596, contains many interesting\nnotices of jade. When reduced to a powder of the size of rice grains it\nstrengthened the lungs, the heart, and the vocal organs, and prolonged\nlife, more especially if gold and silver were added to the jade powder.\nAnother, and certainly a pleasanter way of absorbing this precious\nmineral, was to drink what was enthusiastically called the \u201cdivine\nliquor of jade.\u201d To concoct this elixir equal parts of jade, rice, and\ndew-water were put into a copper pot and boiled, the resultant liquid\nbeing carefully filtered. This mixture was said to strengthen the\nmuscles and make them supple, to harden the bones, to calm the mind, to\nenrich the flesh, and to purify the blood. Whoever took it for a long\nspace of time ceased to suffer from either heat or cold and no longer\nfelt either hunger or thirst.\n\nGalen (b. ca. 130 A.D.) wrote thus of the green jasper:[493]\n\n Some have testified to a virtue in certain stones, and this is true\n of the green jasper, that is to say, this stone aids the stomach and\n navel by contact. And some, therefore, set the stone in rings and\n engrave on it a dragon surrounded by rays, according to what King\n Nechepsos has transmitted to posterity in the fourteenth book (of his\n works). Indeed, I myself have thoroughly tested this stone, for I hung\n a necklace composed of them about my neck so that they touched the\n navel, and I received not less benefit from them than I would had they\n borne the engraving of which Nechepsos wrote.\n\n\nRuby\n\nSanskrit medical literature as represented by Naharari, a physician\nof Cashmere, who wrote in the thirteenth century, finds in the ruby a\nvaluable remedy for flatulency and biliousness. Moreover, aside from\nthese special uses, an elixir of great potency could be made from\nrubies by those who properly understood the employment of precious\nstones in the compounding of medicines.[494] This famous \u201cruby elixir\u201d\nmay have had little in common with the stone except its color, as such\nremedies were generally said to have been made by some secret and\nmysterious process, in the course of which all material evidence of the\npresence of any precious stone or stones completely disappeared.\n\n\nSapphire\n\nOne of the earliest specimens of English literature, William Langley\u2019s\n\u201cVision of William concerning Piers the Plowman\u201d (written about 1377),\ncontains a mention of the sapphire as a cure for disease:[495]\n\n    I looked on my left half as \u00fee lady me taughte\n    And was war of a woman wortheli yeclothed,\n    Purfiled with pelure[496] \u00fee finest vpon erthe,\n    Y-crowned with a corone \u00fee kyng hath none better.\n    Fetislich[497] hir fyngres were fretted[498] with gold wyre,\n    And \u00feere-on red rubyes as red as any glede,[499]\n    And diamants of derrest pris, and double manere safferes,\n    Orientales and ewages[500] enuenymes[501] to destroye.\n\nAmong the rich gifts offered at the shrine of St. Erkinwald, in Old\nSaint Paul\u2019s, was a sapphire given in 1391 by Richard Preston, \u201ca\ncitizen and grocer of London.\u201d He stipulated that the stone should\nbe kept at the shrine for the cure of diseases of the eyes, and that\nproclamation should be made of its remedial virtues. St. Erkinwald\nwas the son of Offa, King of the East Saxons, and was converted to\nChristianity by Melittus, the first bishop of London. In 675 A.D. he\nhimself became bishop of London, being the third to attain that rank\nafter the death of Melittus. His body was interred in the cathedral,\nand his shrine, which was richly embellished during the reign of Edward\nIII (1327-1377), received many valuable donations.[502]\n\nThe usefulness of the sapphire as an eyestone for the removal of all\nimpurities or foreign bodies from the eye is noted by Albertus Magnus,\nwho writes that he had seen it employed for this purpose. He adds that\nwhen a sapphire was used in this way it should be dipped in cold water\nboth before and after the operation.[503] This was probably not so much\nto make the stone colder to the touch as to cleanse it, certainly a\nvery necessary proceeding when the same stone was used by many persons\nsuffering from contagious diseases of the eyes.\n\nRichard Preston\u2019s sapphire appears to have been only one of a class\nregarded as having special virtue to cure diseased eyes, as is shown\nby the existence of various other similar sapphires in different parts\nof Europe. It is not very easy to determine the precise reason\u2014if\nthere be one\u2014which rendered any single sapphire more useful than\nanother in this respect. An entry in the inventory of Charles V notes\n\u201can oval Oriental sapphire for touching the eyes, set in a band of\ngold.\u201d[504] Possibly the fact that a particular gem of this kind was\nused remedially, and was not set for wear as an ornament, may have been\nthe only cause for a belief in its special virtue.\n\nThat the sapphire should have been regarded as especially valuable\nfor the cure of eye diseases serves to illustrate the wide-reaching\nand persistent influence of Egyptian thought, and the curious\ntransformations through which an originally reasonable idea may pass\nin the course of time. We have already noted that the sapphire of the\nancients was our lapis-lazuli, and in the Ebers Papyrus lapis-lazuli\nis given as one of the ingredients of an eye-wash. This ingredient is\nbelieved to have originally been the oxide of copper sometimes called\nlapis Armenus, a material possessing marked astringent properties, and\nwhich might be used to advantage in certain morbid conditions of the\neye. Lapis-lazuli, another blue stone, was later substituted because\nof its greater intrinsic value, its similarity of color rendering it\nequally efficacious according to primitive ideas on this subject. When,\nhowever, in medieval times, the name sapphire came to signify the blue\ncorundum gem known to us by this designation, the special curative\nvirtues of the lapis-lazuli were transferred to this still more\nvaluable stone.\n\nThe proper method of applying a sapphire to cure plague boils is given\nat some length by Van Helmont. A gem of a fine, deep color was to be\nselected and rubbed gently and slowly around the pestilential tumor.\nDuring and immediately after this operation, the patient would feel\nbut little alleviation; but a good while after the removal of the\nstone, favorable symptoms would appear, provided the malady were not\ntoo far advanced. This Van Helmont attributes to a magnetic force in\nthe sapphire by means of which the absent gem continued to extract\n\u201cthe pestilential virulency and contagious poyson from the infected\npart.\u201d[505]\n\n\nTopaz\n\nThe use of a topaz to cure dimness of vision is strongly recommended\nby St. Hildegard. To attain the desired end the stone was to be placed\nin wine and left there for three days and three nights. When retiring\nto sleep, the patient should rub his eyes with the moistened topaz, so\nthat this moisture lightly touched the eyeball. After the stone had\nbeen removed, the wine could be used for five days.[506]\n\nA Roman physician of the fifteenth century was reputed to have wrought\nmany wonderful cures of those stricken by the plague, through touching\nthe plague sores with a topaz which had belonged to two popes, Clement\nVI and Gregory II. The fact that this particular topaz had been in the\nhands of two supreme pontiffs must have added much to the faith reposed\nin the curative powers of the stone by those upon whom it was used,\nand this faith may really have helped to hasten their recovery.[507]\n\n\nBloodstone\n\nA historical instance of the use of the bloodstone to check a\nhemorrhage is recorded in the case of Giorgio Vasari (1514-1578), the\nauthor of the lives of the Italian painters of the Renaissance period.\nOn a certain occasion, when the painter Luca Signorelli (1439-1521)\nwas placing one of his pictures in a church at Arezzo, Vasari, who was\npresent, was seized with a violent hemorrhage and fainted away. Without\na moment\u2019s hesitation, Signorelli took from his pocket a bloodstone\namulet and slipped it down between Vasari\u2019s shoulder-blades. The\nhemorrhage is said to have ceased immediately.[508]\n\nThe bloodstone was used as a remedy by the Indians of New Spain, and\nMonardes notes that they often cut the material into the shape of\nhearts. This seems a very appropriate form for an object used to check\nhemorrhages. The best effect was attained when the stone was first\ndipped in cold water and then held by the patient in his right hand.\nOf course the application of any cold object would serve to congeal\nthe blood, but the connection with the heart vanishes in the direction\nto place the stone in the _right_ hand. Monardes states that both\nSpaniards and Indians used the bloodstone in this way.[509]\n\nThe Franciscan friar Bernardino de Sahagun, a missionary to the Mexican\nIndians, shortly after the Spanish Conquest, writes that in 1576 he\ncured many natives who were at the point of death from hemorrhage, a\nresult of the plague, by causing them to hold in the hand a piece of\nbloodstone. By this means he claims to have saved many lives.[510]\n\nRobert Boyle, in his \u201cEssay about the Origin and Virtues of Gems\u201d\n(London, 1672, pp. 177-78), tells of a gentleman of his acquaintance\nwho was \u201cof a complexion extraordinary sanguin,\u201d and was much afflicted\nwith bleeding of the nose. A gentlewoman sent to him a bloodstone,\ndirecting him to wear it suspended from his neck, and from the time\nhe put it on he was no longer troubled with his malady. It recurred,\nhowever, if he removed the stone. When Boyle objected that this might\nbe a result of imagination, his friend disposed of his objection by\nrelating the instance of a woman to whom the stone had been applied\nwhen she was unconscious from loss of blood. Nevertheless, as soon as\nit touched her, the flow of blood was checked. Boyle states that this\nstone did not seem to him to resemble a true bloodstone. It may have\nbeen that the cold of the stone congealed the blood, or that the flow\nwas checked by exhaustion.\n\n\n\n\nIndex\n\n\n  A\n\n  Aaron, 102, 277, 300, 310, 318\n\n  Abdul Hamid, Sultan, 139\n\n  Abraham, diamond of, 377\n    luminous stones in his city, 161, 276\n\n  Abrasax (Abraxas), 126-130\n    meaning of name, 127\n\n  Acrostics expressed with stones, 359-362\n\n  _Adamas_ (diamond?), 39, 95, 157, 163\n    of high-priest, 278\n\n  Adam\u2019s Peak, Ceylon, gems from, 75\n\n  Adelbert, St., 164\n\n  \u00c6lian, 161\n\n  \u00c6tites, 34\n\n  Agalmatolite, 48\n\n  Agate, 51-54, 132, 236, 237, 265, 296, 305, 336\n    amulets in the Soudan, 54\n    amulets of, cut in Idar and Oberstein, 54\n    banded, 39, 233, 296\n    coral, for an air-ship, 53\n    eye-agates and \u201cAleppo Stones,\u201d 39, 149, 150\n    gem of Gemini, 346\n      of Mercury, 350\n      of Venus, 349\n    in breastplate, 276\n    with veinings figuring diadem, 267\n\n  Agatharcides, 66\n\n  Agricola, Georgius, 141\n\n  Agrippa, Cornelius, 181, 335, 336\n\n  _A\u1e25lamah_, stone of breastplate, 297\n\n  Air-ship, with coral agate, 52, 53\n\n  Alabaster, 35, 36\n\n  Alaric, 283\n\n  \u201cAlbert,\u201d \u201cLe Grand,\u201d \u201cLe Petit,\u201d treatises on stones, 18\n\n  Albertus Magnus, 7, 17, 68, 77, 78, 146, 387\n\n  Albite, 48\n\n  \u201cAleppo Stones,\u201d 149\n    boil, 149\n\n  Alexander the Great, 68, 96, 125\n\n  Alexander II of Russia, 54\n\n  Alexandria, 125, 126, 130\n\n  Alexandrite, 54, 55\n    cat\u2019s-eye, 334\n\n  Alfonso X, \u201cLapidario\u201d of, 63, 348, 376\n\n  Alford, Henry, 304\n\n  Allanite, from Virginia, 366\n\n  Almandine garnet, 37, 59, 293\n\n  Amazonite, from Maine, 365\n\n  Amber, 34, 55-58\n    in deposits of Stone Age, 55, 57\n    in Mycen\u00e6, 57\n    origin of, 55, 56\n    therapeutic effect of, 372\n    with initials naturally marked, 57, 58\n\n  Amboin, 62\n\n  American Museum of Nat. Hist., vi, vii, 219, 234, 249, 254\n\n  Amethyst, 37, 119, 134, 145, 237, 243, 244, 297, 303, 305, 336\n    as antidote to drunkenness, 58, 371\n    as symbol of St. Matthias, 313\n    gem of Jupiter, 348\n      of Pisces, 345\n    in breastplate, 276\n    legend of, 58, 59\n    ring of St. Valentine, 257\n    symbolism of, 269\n\n  Amulets, Alexandrian, 125-129\n    Assyrian, of seven stones, 230\n    attraction of astral influence to, 340\n    Burmese, 266\n    canon on, at Council of Laodicea, 42\n    Chinese, of five stones, 40\n    directions for preparing, 39\n    Egyptian, 38, 226-229\n    etymology of word, 22\n    for heart, 227-229\n    for horses, 130\n    Gnostic, 125-129\n    in Austro-Prussian War, 25\n    in Russo-Japanese War, 25\n    Japanese, called _magatama_, 265\n    Jewish, 43\n    of five stones, _pancharatna_, 241\n    of nine stones, _naoratna_, 241, 242-245\n    origin of, 19-24\n    sailors\u2019, 38, 39\n    with head of Alexander the Great, 131\n\n  Amymone, image of, in emerald, 139, 140\n\n  Andalusite, 47\n\n  Andreas, bishop of C\u00e6sarea, on apostles\u2019 stones, 311, 313\n\n  Andromeda, image of, on gem, 140\n\n  Angels, 275\n    guardian of the months, 326-332\n    guardian, stones dedicated to, 339, 340\n    nine orders of, 314\n    twelve, 303\n    twelve guardian, 322\n\n  \u201cAnne of Geierstein\u201d and the opal, 143\n\n  _Anthrax_ (carbuncle), 162\n\n  Apocalyptic gems, significance of, 305\n\n  Apollonius of Tyana, seven rings of, 244\n\n  Apostles, lists of the twelve, 304\n    stones of, 303-306\n\n  Aquamarine (beryl), 299, 320\n    therapeutic effect of, 387\n\n  Aquarius, zodiacal sign of, 345, 353\n\n  Aquinas, St. Thomas, 17\n\n  Aragonite, 251\n\n  Aries, zodiacal sign, 341, 342, 345, 353\n\n  Aristotle, pseudo-, 160, 163\n\n  Arsino\u00eb, wife of Ptolemy II, 67, 93\n\n  _Artemisia vulgaris_, 212\n\n  Artemidorus, 356, 357\n\n  Ashmole, Elias, 167\n\n  Assher, 289, 300\n\n  Asteria, 106, 107\n\n  Astral stones, 321, 338-363\n    fixed stars controlling, 351, 352\n    images of constellations on, 352-355\n    influence of stars on, 338, 339\n\n  Athene of Phidias, 167\n\n  Aubrey, John, 196\n\n  Augustine, St., 126, 282\n\n  Augustus, 342\n\n  Auto-suggestion, 3\n\n  Aventurine, 48\n\n  Axinite, 48\n\n  Azchalias of Babylon, 80\n\n  \u201cAzoth\u201d of Paracelsus, 6\n\n  Azur-malachite, from Arizona, 364\n\n\n  B\n\n  Babylonian axe-head, 233, 234\n    cylinders, 121-123, 204\n\n  Bacchus and Amethyst, 58, 59\n\n  Baccio, Andrea, 158\n\n  Bacon, Roger, 182, 183\n\n  Baelz, Dr. Erwin, 265\n\n  Balas-ruby, 64, 349\n\n  Ball, Dr. Valentine, 76\n\n  Baltic Coast, amber of the, 56\n\n  _Bareketh_, stone of breastplate, 291, 292\n\n  Barium sulphate, 9\n\n  Bartolom\u00e6us Anglicus, 91, 94, 104, 150\n\n  Basalt, 227\n\n  Basilides, 126, 129\n\n  Basilidian gems, 126-130\n\n  Batman, Stephen, 150\n\n  Bela IV of Hungary, emerald in ring of, 77, 78\n\n  Belgium, jet in cave deposits of, 92\n\n  Belisarius, 283\n\n  Belucci collection of worked jade at Perugia, 264\n\n  Belucci, Prof. Giuseppe, vii\n\n  Benitoite, from California, 364\n\n  Benjamin, 289, 297\n\n  Benoni, Rabbi, 72\n\n  Berenice, mother of Ptolemy II, 67\n\n  Berlin Museum, 36\n\n  Berthelot, Pierre Eug\u00e8ne Marcellin, 174\n\n  Beryl, 39, 59, 60, 119, 133, 134, 234, 236, 237, 299, 303, 305, 313,\n         320, 336\n    as symbol of St. Thomas, 312\n    gem of the moon, 348\n      of Scorpio, 347\n    in breastplate, 276\n\n  Bes, god, image of, 36\n\n  Bejazet II, 154\n\n  Bezoar, 340\n\n  Birth-stones, see _Natal Stones_\n\n  Black, Christian symbolism of, 273\n    in occult ritual, 336\n    symbolism of, 32\n\n  Black opal of New South Wales, 152\n\n  Blake, W. W., vii\n\n  Blessington, Countess of, verses on opal, 143\n\n  Bloodstone, 133\n    causing tempests, 60\n    checking hemorrhages, 28\n    figuring blood of Christ, 267\n    gem of Aries, 345\n    in Leyden papyrus, 61\n    therapeutic effect of, 370, 390, 391\n\n  Blue, Christian symbolism of, 273\n    gems in dreams, 357\n    significance of, 31\n    silver, worn in Siam for Friday; dark for Saturday, 335\n\n  Bologna stone, 168\n\n  Bondaroy, Jean de la Taille de, 5\n\n  Book of the Dead, 38, 86, 225, 227, 228, 229, 290, 297\n\n  Book of Wings, Ragiel\u2019s, 132\n\n  Boot, Anselmus de, 56, 65, 106, 109, 110, 271\n\n  Borgia, Card. Stefano, 234\n\n  Borneo, breeding pearls in, 42\n\n  Boyle, Robert, 169, 170, 171, 391\n\n  Braddock, Dr. Charles, vii\n\n  Breastplate of high-priest, 16, 120, 231, 307, 308, 309, 310, 319\n    stones of, 275-302\n    names of, in ancient lists, 301\n    probable modern names of, 301\n\n  Breastplate of Judgment, 16\n\n  Buddha, 238\n\n  Buddhabhatta, 71, 73\n\n  Budge, Dr. Ernest A. Wallis, vii, 227\n\n  Burgh, Hubert de, 44\n\n  Burke, Capt. John G., 202\n\n  Burma, amulets of, 266\n\n  Burton, Sir Richard Francis, star-sapphire of, 106\n\n\n  C\n\n  C\u00e6sar, Julius, 341\n\n  Cagliostro (Giuseppe Balsamo), 198\n\n  Cairo Museum, 38, 201, 297\n\n  Calamine, religious use of, 271, 272\n\n  Calculus, renal, curious poem on, 384\n\n  California Midwinter Mem. Mus., San Francisco, vi\n\n  Californite, 323\n\n  _Callais_, 108\n\n  Cancer, zodiacal sign, 346, 354\n\n  Canrobert, Marshal, faith in amulets, 25\n\n  Cantimpr\u00e9, Thomas de, 17, 59\n\n  Capricorn, zodiacal sign, 342, 347\n\n  Carbuncle, 33, 39, 145, 162, 168, 174, 243, 292, 305, 343, 357, 372\n    as symbol of Christ\u2019s sacrifice, 61\n    brought by serpent, 62\n    gem of Venus, 348\n    in breastplate, 276\n\n  _Carcinia_, 34\n\n  Cardano, Girolamo, 52, 70, 78, 83, 98, 151, 160, 264\n\n  Carnelian, 6, 36, 37, 119, 124, 133, 226, 227, 229, 265, 290, 291, 319\n    Arabic inscription on, 63\n    engraved with zodiacal signs, 341\n    figures engraved in, by Israelites, 120\n    gem of Virgo, 346\n    of the Sun and Venus, 348\n    Goethe\u2019s praise of, 62\n    identified with _odem_-stone of breastplate, 120\n    Mohammed\u2019s seal-ring of, 64\n    Napoleon\u2019s seal of, 64\n    Oriental use against envy, 63\n    therapeutic effect of, 370\n\n  Carrington, Hereward, vii\n\n  Catherine de\u2019 Medici, girdle of, set with talismanic stones, 317\n\n  Cat\u2019s-eye, 65, 238, 242, 243, 244\n    alexandrite, 334\n    chrysoberyl, 333\n    quartz, 334\n\n  Cellini, Benvenuto, 154\n\n  Celonite, 134\n\n  _Ceraunia_, 34, 134, 162\n\n  Cernowitz, Hungary, opals of, 148\n\n  Cethel, 140\n\n  Ceylon, 54, 65, 75, 165, 252, 324\n\n  _Chalazia_ (rock-crystal), 34\n\n  Chalcedony, 39, 65, 122, 134, 265, 303, 305, 313, 372\n    as symbol of St. Andrew, 312\n    gem of Capricorn, 347\n\n  _Chalchiuhatl_, \u201cwater of precious stones,\u201d in Aztec, 40\n\n  _Chalchiuitl_ (jadeite?), 247, 251\n\n  Charles I of England, 262\n\n  Charles V of France, 388\n\n  Charles V of Germany and the turquoise, 24\n\n  Charles XII of Sweden, 57\n\n  Chau Ju-Kua, 165\n\n  Chaucer, Geoffrey, 43\n\n  _Chelonites_, 34\n\n  Chiastolite (macle) as religious symbol, 270\n    therapeutic effect of, 270\n\n  Childeric, crystal ball of, 219-221\n\n  Chinese amulets, 40, 84-87\n\n  Chin T\u2019sang Khi, of loadstone, 95\n\n  Chirocrates, 93\n\n  Chlorastrolite, from Minnesota, 365\n\n  Chlorophane, luminescence of, 172, 173\n\n  Christ, blood of, figured in bloodstone, 267\n    colors symbolical of his sacrifice, 274\n    foundation stones symbols of, 313\n    head of, naturally figured in quartz, 267, 268\n    natural images of, in stones, 266, 267, 268, 269\n    sacrifice of, symbolized by amethyst, 269\n\n  Chromium oxide, 10\n\n  Chrysoberyl, 54, 65, 313\n    cat\u2019s-eye, 333\n\n  Chrysolampis, 164\n\n  Chrysolite, 29, 133, 291, 297, 303, 305\n    as symbol of St. Bartholomew, 312\n    from the \u201cSerpent Isle,\u201d 66\n    gem of Libra, 346\n    of the Sun, 347\n    in Cologne Cathedral, 66\n    statue of Arsino\u00eb in, 67\n\n  Chrysoprase, 11, 37, 67, 265, 303, 305, 313, 316, 319\n    as symbol of St. Thaddeus, 312\n    of Alexander the Great, 68\n\n  Chrysostom, John, 125\n\n  Cicero, his daughter\u2019s emerald, 31\n\n  Claudian, 94\n\n  Clavijo, Ruy Gonzalez de, 266\n\n  Cleandro, Arnobio, 165, 372\n\n  Clemens Alexandrinus, 309\n\n  Clement VI, 389\n\n  Clement VII, 342, 378\n\n  Clerc, Dr. G. O., vii\n\n  Cock, the, on amulets, 137\n\n  Cologne, chrysolites in cathedral of, 66\n\n  Color, Christian symbolism of, 273, 274\n    of gems and vestments for each day of the week in Siam, 335\n    symbolism of, 29-33\n    therapeutic effect of, 27-29, 33, 370\n\n  Confucius and musical jade, 87\n\n  Consecration of precious stones, 44, 45\n\n  Constantine, King of Greece, star-sapphire in sword-hilt of, 334\n\n  Constantine the Great, 136, 286, 373\n\n  Constellations, symbols of, in engraved gems, 352-355\n\n  Coral, 40, 68, 69, 236, 237, 238, 242, 243, 244, 245, 246\n    gem of Venus, 348\n    red, superstition in regard to, explained, 160, 161\n    therapeutic effect of, 372\n\n  Cornelius \u00e0 Lapide (Van den Steen), 280\n\n  Corundum, 39, 252, 344, 372\n\n  Council of Laodicea, canon on amulets, 42\n\n  Countries, gem of, 363, 364\n\n  Crocidolite (Krokidolite), 360\n\n  Cronstedt, Axel Frederic, 271\n\n  Crookes, Sir William, 172\n\n  Cross, monogrammatic, 136\n    of Christ, found by St. Helena, 286\n\n  Crusades, 66\n\n  _Crux ansata_, 135\n\n  Crystal ball, called \u201cCurrahmore Crystal,\u201d 223\n    from Madagascar, 217\n    in Gr\u00fcne Gew\u00f6lbe, Dresden, 223\n    in sepulchres, 219-222\n    Japanese, 217, 218\n    of Childeric, 219-221\n\n  Crystal gazing, 176-224\n\n  Ctesiphon, sack of, 284, 285\n\n  \u201cCurrahmore Crystal,\u201d 223\n\n  Cyanite, 49\n\n  _Cyanus_, 119\n\n  Cylinders, Assyro-Babylonian, 121-123, 204\n\n  \u201cCyrianides,\u201d Greek treatise on stones, 16\n\n\n  D\n\n  Damigeron, 15, 90, 104, 132, 140, 141\n\n  Damour, A., vii\n\n  Dan, 289, 297\n\n  Days of the week, ritual gems worn in occult ceremony, 336\n    gems of the, 332, 333\n\n  Dee, Dr. John, 189-196\n\n  Delhi, 79\n\n  Demantoid, 49\n\n  Dendrite, 360\n\n  Diamond, 10, 28, 32, 69-76, 234, 236, 239, 240, 241, 242, 243, 269,\n           280, 281, 294, 344, 348, 375\n    as natal stone, 308, 320\n    breeding, 41, 72\n    combustion of, 71\n    \u201cDiamond Throne,\u201d 238\n    _elm\u00eashu_ in Assyrian (?), 231\n    gem of reconciliation, 70\n      of the Sun, 349\n      of Winter, 323, 326, 327\n    in breastplate, 276\n    medicinal use of, 153\n    names of Hindu castes given to, 71, 73\n    paleness sign of infidelity, 157\n    Sanskrit names of, 343\n    secured by birds, 75, 176\n    symbolism of, 235\n    talismanic effect of various shapes of, 154\n    Talmudic legend of, 74\n    therapeutic effect of, 386-389\n    used as poison, Bejazet II, Paracelsus, Cellini,\n      Sir Thomas Overbury, 154-156\n\n  \u201cDiamond Throne,\u201d 238\n\n  Diana and Amethyst, 59\n\n  Diaspore, 47\n\n  Didius Julianus, Emperor, 178\n\n  Diodorus, Bishop of Tyre, 16\n\n  Diodorus Siculus, 66, 298\n\n  Dionysius Periegetes, 298\n\n  Dioptase, gem of the Congo, 363\n\n  Dioskorides, Greek gem-engraver, 342\n\n  Disease in precious stones, 5\n\n  Dolce, Ludovico, 18\n\n  Domitian, 341\n\n  _Donnerkeil_, 162\n\n  Draper, Mrs. Henry, vii\n\n  Dreams, books of, ancient, 356, 357\n    meaning of precious stones seen in, 356-358\n\n\n  E\n\n  Ebers Papyrus, 367, 368, 388\n\n  _Echites_, 34\n\n  Edda, 146\n\n  Edward III of England, 387\n\n  Edward VI of England, 98\n\n  Egmund Abbey, luminous stone of, 164\n\n  El\u00e6olite, 47\n\n  Electrum, 37, 295\n\n  Elizabeth, Queen of England, 150, 189, 374\n\n  Elizabeth, St., 268\n    luminous stone in shrine of, 165\n    ring of, 165\n\n  Emerald, 28, 34, 68, 76-79, 90, 132, 145, 234, 236, 237, 238, 240,\n           242, 280, 293, 303, 305, 313, 336, 349, 372\n    as burnt offering, 255\n    as symbol of St. John, 312\n    blinding of serpent by, 158\n    engraved, of Ismenias, 139, 140\n    gem of Cancer, 346\n      of Jupiter, 348\n      of Spring, 323, 324\n    in breastplate, 276\n    in Revelation, 304\n    luminous, in tomb of Hermias, 167\n    of Isabella da Este, 31\n    of Mt. Zabara, Nubia, 292, 324\n    of Otho I of Germany, 260\n    of Tullia, 31\n    one adored by ancient Peruvians, 247, 248\n    (supposed) cup in Genoa, 258, 259\n    therapeutic effect of, 370, 375, 379-382\n\n  Emerson, Ralph Waldo, 24\n\n  Engraved gems as talismans, 115-142\n\n  Envy, Oriental use of carnelian against, 63\n\n  Ephod of high-priest, 276, 277\n\n  Ephraim, 288, 289\n\n  Epidote, 360\n\n  Epiphanius, St., 16, 67, 157, 278, 295, 311, 313\n\n  Epitaphs illustrating symbolism of gems, 272, 273\n\n  Erasmus, Desiderius, 34\n\n  Eridanus, 56\n\n  Essonite, 359\n\n  Euclase, 47\n\n  Euphrates, 68\n\n  Europa, 33\n\n  Eusebius, 373\n\n  Evax, 15, 59\n\n  Evil Eye, 39, 42, 54, 72, 106, 107, 137, 138, 139, 148, 150\n\n  Eye-agates, 39, 149, 150\n\n  Ezekiel, 231, 275, 314\n\n\n  F\n\n  Farrington, Dr. Oliver C., vii\n\n  Fay, Mons du, 170, 171\n\n  Feavearyear, A. W., vii\n\n  _Feits\u2019ui_ (Imperial jade), 83, 85\n\n  Feldspar, 229, 292\n\n  Ferez, Dr. Paul, 33\n\n  Fetichism, 19, 26, 37\n\n  Field Museum of Natural History, Chicago, vi, 51, 66\n\n  Fire-opal, 47\n\n  Flint, Dr. Earle, 86\n\n  Fluorescence, 169-174\n\n  Fluorspar, 9, 67\n\n  Foundation stones, 307, 310-314, 316, 317\n    associated with apostles, 303-306\n      with Twelve Tribes, 314\n\n  Fowlerite, from New Jersey, 365\n\n  Francis I of France, 342\n\n  Friedrich Wilhelm I of Prussia, 57\n\n\n  G\n\n  Gabelchover, Wolfgang, 158, 380\n\n  Gad, 289, 299\n\n  Gadolinite, 49\n\n  Gagates, 49\n\n  Galactides, 49\n\n  Galen, 300, 376, 385\n\n  _Galopetr\u00e6_, Cretan seals, 123\n\n  Garcias ab Orta, 153, 166, 167\n\n  Garnets, 265, 316\n    almandine, 37, 59, 293\n    as bullets, 33\n    engraved, 133\n    gem of Aquarius, 345\n    therapeutic effect of, 370\n\n  Gem-city of Dwaraka, 236\n    of Kusavati, 236\n    described by Lucian, 237\n\n  Gemini, zodiacal sign, 346, 354, 355\n\n  \u201cGemma Augustea\u201d of Vienna Collection, 342\n\n  Genlis, Mme. de, of \u201cLe Saphire Merveilleux,\u201d 105\n\n  George V of England, 288\n\n  _Geranites_, 34\n\n  Gesner, Conrad, 252, 259\n\n  Gesta Romanorum, 35\n\n  Gimma, Giacinto, 29\n\n  Glanvil, Joseph, 197\n\n  Gnostic gems, 126-130\n\n  Goethe, Wolfgang von, 62, 187\n\n  Gomara, Francisco Lopez de, 254\n\n  Gonelli, Giuseppe, 65, 379\n\n  Gonzaga da Este, Isabella, emerald of, 31\n\n  Goodrich-Freer, Miss, 208, 209\n\n  Gratacap, Dr. L. P., vii\n\n  Green, Christian symbolism of, 273\n    curative effects of, 28\n    gems in dreams, 357\n    significance of, 31, 226, 227\n    stones, therapeutic effect of, 370\n    worn in Siam for Thursday, 335\n\n  Green, Miss Belle Da Costa, vii\n\n  Gregory II, 389\n\n  Grossularite, 47\n\n  Gyges, ring of, 7\n\n  Gypsum, 10, 79, 80\n    \u201clucky stones\u201d of, 80\n\n\n  H\n\n  _Han-y\u00fc_, or \u201cmouth jade,\u201d 86\n\n  Hardouin, Jean, 128\n\n  Harlequin-opal, 49\n\n  Hauffe, Frederike, 9\n\n  Hecate, image of, in amulet, 40\n\n  Hector, 30\n\n  Hei-tiki of New Zealand, 87-90\n\n  Helena, St., 286\n\n  Heliades, 55\n\n  Heliodor, 49\n\n  Heliotrope, 47\n\n  Helmont, Van, 389\n\n  Hematite, 6, 38, 80, 81, 122, 218, 227\n\n  Henrietta Maria, 262\n\n  Henry III of England, 44\n\n  Henry II of France, 166\n\n  Heuen Tsang, 238\n\n  Heraclius, 286\n\n  Hermes Trismegistus, 16, 381\n\n  Hiddenite, from North Carolina, 365\n\n  Hilda, St., Abbess of Whitby, 263\n\n  Hildegard, St., 70, 82, 389\n\n  \u201cHind Horn and Maid Rimnild,\u201d ballad, 156, 157\n\n  Hirth, Dr. Frederick, vii\n\n  \u201cHistory of Jewels,\u201d old gem-treatise, 17\n\n  Hoernes, Dr. Moriz, 55, 135\n\n  H\u00f6llenzwang of Dr. Faustus, 187\n\n  Homer\u2019s Odyssey, amber necklace, 57\n    Iliad, use of red, 30\n\n  Horsey, Sir Jerome, 374\n\n  Horus, eye of, as scarab, 117\n\n  Hours of the day, gems of the, 337\n\n  Hudibras, 356\n\n  Human sacrifice, 3-5\n\n  Huntilite, 49\n\n  Hyacinth, see _jacinth_\n\n  Hyades, 343\n\n  Hyde, Major, 113\n\n  Hydrolite, from Oregon, 365\n\n  _Hydromantii_, 180\n\n  Hypersthene, 49\n\n  Hypnotism, 7, 8, 11, 33\n\n\n  I\n\n  Iceland spar, 9\n\n  Idar, Germany, gem-cutting at, 54\n\n  Idocrase, 359\n\n  Images, natural, in stones, 266-269\n\n  Imperial Academy, Moscow, 142\n\n  Indersoen, Norway, amber from, 57\n\n  Indicolite, 360\n\n  Initials of names figured by precious stones, 47-50\n\n  Iolite, 359\n\n  Iris, 124, 130, 132, 226, 234\n    image signifying blood of, 120\n    stone, 133\n\n  Isaiah, 305\n\n  Ishtar, jewels of, 231\n\n  Isidorus of Seville, 59\n\n  Israel, twelve tribes of, 276, 278, 282, 288, 289, 305, 314\n\n  Issachar, 289, 294\n\n  Italian MS., 14th cent., 70, 77, 134\n\n  Ivan the Terrible and his curative stones, 374, 375\n\n  Ivory, 37\n\n\n  J\n\n  Jacinth (hyacinth), 29, 81-83, 234, 242, 243, 295, 296, 303, 305,\n                      316, 319, 344, 349, 375\n    as symbol of St. Simon Zelotes, 313\n    electuary of, 372\n    gem of Jupiter, 348\n      of Mars, 348\n    to dissolve magic spells, 82\n    to induce sleep, 83\n\n  Jade, 68, 83-90, 122, 236, 248-254, 265, 294, 300\n    called, with other green stones, _chalchihuitl_ by Mexicans, 251\n    Chinese amulets of, 83, 84\n    Chinese vase of, described, 239, 240\n    derivation of name, 383\n    form of Chinese character for, 83\n    _hei-tikis_ of New Zealand, 87-90\n    large mass of, from Jordansm\u00fchl, Silesia, 250\n    objects of in Chinese emperor\u2019s collection, 245\n    of New Zealand, 382\n    talismans of, among Mohammedans, 246\n    therapeutic use of, 239, 381-384\n    where found in New and Old World, 249-251\n    adze, known as the \u201cKunz Adze,\u201d 248, 249, 252\n\n  Jadeite, 247, 249-252, 300, 382\n    cross made from celt of, 264\n    objects of, at Perugia, 264\n\n  Jagganath, image of with eyes of precious stones, 240\n\n  James I of England, 155\n\n  Jamestown Exposition, 1907, vi\n\n  J\u00e2mi, lines in crystal mirror, 182\n\n  Jargoon, see _jacinth_\n\n  Jasper, 6, 38, 90, 91, 122, 133, 135, 226, 227, 229, 252, 265, 291,\n          294, 298, 300, 302, 303, 305, 313, 319, 372\n    as symbol of St. Peter, 311\n    gem of Libra, 346\n    green, engraved with zodiacal symbols, 342\n    in breastplate, 276\n    of King Nechepsus, 385\n\n  Jerome, St., 100, 307, 310\n\n  Jessen, Dr. Peter, vii\n\n  Jet, 39, 91, 92\n    in burials of Pueblo Bonito, 92\n    in pal\u00e6olithic remains, 91\n    of Whitby, 263, 264\n\n  John, St., 275, 303, 311\n\n  Jordansm\u00fchl, Silesia, largest mass of European jade found at, 250\n\n  Joseph, 288, 289, 295\n\n  Josephus, Flavius, 277, 278, 283, 285, 290, 291, 292, 294, 295, 296,\n                     297, 301, 307, 309, 310\n\n  Juba, 66\n\n  Judah, 289, 293\n\n  Junot, Marshal, and the emerald, 262\n\n  Jupiter, god, 341\n    planet, 32, 33, 243, 336, 348, 353, 354, 355, 372\n\n  Justinian, 283\n\n\n  K\n\n  Kaldoun, Ibn, 181\n\n  Kalpa Sutra, 238\n\n  Kazwini, Al, 74\n\n  Khusrau II, 284\n\n  King, Rev. C. W., 283, 342\n\n  Knopf, 253\n\n  Konrad of Megenberg, 17, 45, 141\n\n  Koran, 111, 275\n    Fourth Heaven of carbuncle in the, 61, 349\n\n  Korea, national emblem of, 265\n\n  Krishna, 241\n\n  Kunzite, 171, 323\n\n\n  L\n\n  Labradorite, 360\n\n  Labrets, 252-254\n\n  Lane, E. W., experiments in crystal gazing, 205\n\n  Lang, Andrew, 180, 181, 210\n\n  Lapidaries, gods of, in ancient Mexico, 255\n\n  Lapidario, of Alfonso X, 63, 348, 376\n    of Marbodus (in French), 15\n    of Philippe de Valois, 102\n    of Sir John Mandeville, 71, 72, 103, 109\n\n  _Lapis Armenus_, 388\n\n  _Lapis crucifer_ (staurolite), 271\n\n  Lapis-lazuli, 36, 37, 38, 92, 93, 226, 227, 228, 229, 230, 245, 294,\n                319, 336\n    gem of Venus, 348\n    image of Ma (Truth) of, 119, 122, 229, 293\n    therapeutic effect of, 370, 388\n\n  _Lapis nephriticus_ (nephrite), 264\n\n  Laufer, Dr. Berthold, vii\n\n  Leczinska, Marie, 320\n\n  _Leishmania tropica_, 149\n\n  Lenormant, Fran\u00e7ois, 233\n\n  Leo, zodiacal sign, 29, 341, 346, 354\n\n  Leonardo, Camillo, 18, 51, 58, 132\n\n  Leopold I of Germany, 221\n\n  Lepidolite, 48\n\n  _Leshem_, stone of breastplate, 295, 296\n\n  Levi, 288, 289, 292\n\n  Leyden papyrus, praise of bloodstone in, 61\n\n  Libra, zodiacal sign, 212, 346, 354, 355\n\n  Life in precious stones, 5\n\n  Ligure, in breastplate, 276, 295, 319\n\n  \u201cLithica,\u201d poem on gems, 51, 90, 94, 163, 178\n\n  Litteromancy, 16\n\n  Llewellyn, King of Wales, 44\n\n  Loadstone, 10, 81, 93-97, 134\n    court decision in regard to, 96\n    statue of Arsino\u00eb to be held suspended by, 93\n    statue of Venus of, 94\n    symbolical names for, 95\n    used as charm by Alexander the Great, 96\n    where first found, 93\n\n  Lodge, Sir Oliver, 214, 215\n\n  Lorenzo del Escorial, San, monastery of, gems in, 263\n\n  Lorraine, northern, jet from, 92\n\n  Loreto, Santa Casa di, 174, 262, 267\n\n  Los Cerrillos, N. M., turquoise from, 111, 112\n\n  Louis XIV, 221\n\n  Luca ben Costa, 291\n\n  Lucian, 177, 237\n\n  \u201cLucky stones\u201d (gypsum), from Niagara Falls, 80\n\n  Luminous stones, 101, 174\n    in Abraham\u2019s city, 161, 276\n    of Astarte, 163\n    of Egmund Abbey, 164\n    of Emperor Manuel\u2019s throne, 166\n    of Henri II of France, 166\n    of King of Siam, 62\n    of Noah in the Ark, 161, 276\n    of St. Elizabeth\u2019s shrine, 165\n    tale of, by \u00c6lian, 161, 162\n\n  \u201cLunar-stone,\u201d 168\n\n  Luther, Martin, 294\n    tale of amulet vender by, 45, 46\n\n  _Lychnus_ or _lychnitis_ (a spinel?), 162, 163, 357\n\n  Lydian stone, 163\n\n  _Lyncurius_, 56, 295\n\n\n  M\n\n  Macon, Ga., court decision about loadstone, 96\n\n  Maeterlinck, Mme., 76\n\n  _Magatama_ amulets of Japanese, 265\n\n  Magical influences of stones, 3, 5, 6, 7, 42\n\n  Magnes, reputed discoverer of loadstone, 93\n\n  Magnet Cove, Ark., loadstone from, 96\n\n  _Maharatnani_, five chief gems of the _naoratna_, 242\n\n  Malachite, 8, 37, 299\n    as a child\u2019s amulet, 97\n    to protect from Evil Eye, 137\n    to protect from falls, 97\n    mines of, 97\n\n  Manassah, 288, 289\n\n  Mandeville, Sir John, 71, 72, 103, 109\n\n  Manuel, Emperor, throne of, 166\n\n  Marbodus, 15, 51, 59, 70, 104, 164, 377\n\n  Marguerite de Valois, 5\n\n  Mars, the god, 81, 94, 140, 341\n    planet, 187, 243, 338, 348, 352, 353, 354, 355\n\n  Martial, St., jeweled gloves of, 257\n\n  Matrix-emerald, 226, 227\n\n  Medusa, head of, on talisman, 124\n\n  Meleager, 56\n\n  Mend\u00e8s, Mme. Catulle, 26\n\n  Mentzel, Christian, 168\n\n  Mercury, the god, 257, 341\n    planet, 123, 242, 348, 352, 353, 354, 355\n    typical of green, 31\n\n  Metropolitan Museum of Art, 86, 130, 342\n\n  Meyer, Dr. A. B., viii\n\n  Meyers, J. L., 292, 299\n\n  \u201cMexican onyx,\u201d 251\n\n  Meyer, Prof. A. B., 250\n\n  Michael, St., 257\n\n  Microcline, 50\n\n  Mithridates the Great, 80\n\n  Mizauld, Antoine, 98, 166\n\n  Mohammed\u2019s carnelian seal-ring, 64\n\n  Moldavite, 360\n\n  Monardes, 390\n\n  Montfaucon, Bernard de, 220\n\n  Month, Hindu list of gems of the, 331\n    natal stones of the, 326-333\n\n  Moonstone, 8, 320, 334\n    as gift for lovers, 98\n    in India, 97\n    waxing and waning with moon, 98\n\n  Morales, 343\n\n  Morgan, J. Pierpont, vi, 254\n\n  Morgan Collection, Am. Mus. Nat. Hist. N. Y., vi, 66\n\n  Morgan-Tiffany Collection, Am. Mus. Nat. Hist., 106, 233\n\n  Morganite, gem of Madagascar, 364\n\n  Moryson, Fynes, Gent., 174\n\n  Moser, Consul General, vii\n\n  Moses, 278, 280, 286\n\n  Moss-agate, 48\n\n  M\u00fcller, Max, 269\n\n  Multan, India, idol of temple at, 240\n\n  Mus\u00e9e d\u2019Histoire Naturelle, Paris, vi\n\n  Mother-of-pearl, therapeutic use of, 239\n\n  Mycen\u00e6, amber at, 57\n    gems from, 204\n\n  _Myrmecites_, 34\n\n\n  N\n\n  Naharari, on gems, 386\n\n  Names, initials of, figured by precious stones, 47-50\n\n  _Naoratna_, nine-gem jewel, 231, 241, 242-245\n    names of, in various tongues, 244\n    occult use of gems in, 244\n\n  Naphtali, 298\n\n  Napoleon\u2019s carnelian seal, 64\n\n  Napoleon I, 64, 260, 309\n\n  Napoleon III, 64, 142\n\n  Natal stones, vi, 1, 307-337\n    list of, from various sources, 315\n    proposed new listing of, 317-321\n    selected from precious stones produced in the United States, 323\n\n  National Museum, Washington, vi\n\n  Natrolite, 50\n\n  Navajos, rain-making gods of the, adorned with coral and turquoise, 246\n\n  Neandross, Sigurd, Maori warrior by, 254\n\n  Nebo, god, image on cylinder, 123\n\n  Necklace, Egyptian, 36-38\n    of Vesta, 235\n\n  Nephrite, see _jade_\n\n  _Nephritfrage_, viii, 249\n\n  Neptune, god, 341\n\n  New Jerusalem, 236, 275, 302-306\n    foundation stones of, 307, 310-314, 316, 317\n\n  New South Wales, black opal of, 152\n\n  New Zealand jade, 87-90\n\n  Nicander, 93\n\n  Nicias, 56\n\n  Nicols, Thomas, 7, 142\n\n  Ninib, god, image on seal, 35\n\n  Noah, luminous stones of, in the Ark, 161, 276\n\n  Nodes, ascending and descending, 243\n\n  Nonius, opal of, 144-146\n\n  _Nophek_, stone of breastplate, 292\n\n  Nordenskj\u00f6ld, Baron Nils Adolf Erik, 54\n\n  Novaculite, from Arkansas, 364\n\n  Nuttall, Mrs. Zelia, 86\n\n\n  O\n\n  Oberstein, Germany, gem-cutting at, 54, 218, 219\n\n  Obsidian, mirror of Dr. Dee, 196\n    Mexican mirrors of, 204\n\n  _Oculus Beli_, 107\n\n  _Oculus mundi_, 107\n\n  _Odem_, stone of breastplate, 290, 291\n\n  Ominous gems, 143-161\n\n  Oneirocritica (dream-books), 356\n\n  Onyx, 233, 265, 336\n    gem of Leo, 346\n    ill-effects neutralized by sard, 107\n    in breastplate, 276\n    \u201cMexican onyx,\u201d 251\n    of St. Elizabeth\u2019s tomb, 267\n    ominous quality of, 159\n    provoked discord, 98\n    \u201cTecalco onyx,\u201d 252\n\n  Opal, 143-152\n    black, of New South Wales, 152\n    Cardanus, 151\n    fear of the, 21\n    Hungarian, 145, 146, 148\n    imitation of, 145\n    in Scott\u2019s \u201cAnne of Geierstein,\u201d 143\n    in Shakespeare\u2019s Twelfth Night, 150\n    natural, figuring serpent, 27\n    October\u2019s gem, 144\n    of Nonius, 144-146\n    _patronus furum_, or patron of thieves, 148\n    Pliny\u2019s praise of, 145\n\n  _Ophiokiolus_, 39\n\n  _Ophthalmius_-stone (opal?), 7, 146, 148\n\n  _Opsianus_, 39\n\n  _Orphanus_-stone (opal?), 146-148\n\n  Orthoclase, 50\n\n  Otho I of Germany, emerald of, 260\n\n  Overbury, Sir Thomas, 155, 156\n\n\n  P\n\n  _Panchratna_, five-gem jewel, 241\n\n  Paracelsus, Philippus Aureolus, 6, 154, 184, 185\n\n  Patrick, St., 179\n\n  Pausanius, 177\n\n  \u201cPeacock stones,\u201d 137\n\n  Pearls, 69, 230, 234, 236, 237, 238, 240, 241, 242, 244, 303, 306,\n          320, 336\n    breeding, 41\n    gem of the moon, 348, 349\n      of Venus, 348\n    therapeutic effect of, 372\n\n  Pellegrinus, Fulvius, 31\n\n  Pepper, George H., 92, 112, 113\n\n  Pericles, 373\n\n  Peridot, see _chrysolite_\n\n  Perugia, collection of jade artefacts at, 264\n\n  Peter, St., 303, 308\n    tooth-relic of, set with gems, 256\n\n  Petrie, W. M. Flinders, 291, 292\n\n  Pha\u00ebthon, 55\n\n  \u201cPharaoh\u2019s eggs,\u201d 80\n\n  Phenacite, from Colorado, 365\n\n  Phenomenal gems, 8, 333, 334\n\n  Philip II, of Spain, 263\n\n  Philippe Egalit\u00e9, Duke of Orleans, sapphire of, 106\n\n  Philostratus, 244\n\n  Phosphorescence, 169-174\n\n  \u201cPiers the Plowman,\u201d curative gems in, 386\n\n  Pisces, zodiacal sign, 345\n\n  _Pi\u1e6ddah_, stone of breastplate, 291\n\n  Planetary gems, 244, 338-363\n    controls of, in Lapidario of Alfonso X, 348\n    of various planets, 348-351\n\n  Planets figured on engraved gems, 355, 356\n\n  Plasma, green, 252\n\n  Plato, 93\n\n  Pleiades, 343\n\n  Pliny, 13, 66, 67, 80, 92, 100, 108, 128, 143, 162, 167, 290, 291,\n         293, 296, 367, 380\n\n  Plutarch, 30, 373\n\n  Porphyry, 38\n\n  Porta, Giovanni Battista, 335\n\n  Portland, Oregon, Exposition, vi\n\n  Poujet fils, 316\n\n  \u201cPrase\u201d of Alexander, 68\n\n  Precious stones, as adornment of goddess Sri, 239\n    as eyes of idols, 167, 240\n    as offerings to Hindu gods, 240, 241\n    as symbols of the Apostles, 311-314\n    as symbols of various countries, 363, 364\n    collected by birds, 21\n      by seals, 22\n    consecration of, 45\n    disease in, 5\n    for hours of the day, 337\n    for natal months, 326-331\n    for week days, 332-335\n    for wedding anniversaries, 337\n    individuality of, 26\n    in high-priest\u2019s breastplate, 235-306\n    life in, 5\n    magical virtue of, 5-8, 44, 45\n    meaning of, seen in dreams, 356-358\n    names of, used as adjectives, 12, 13\n      used by Shelley, 13\n      used in typography, 12\n    of Mohammedan heavens, 349\n    perfume of, 376\n    principal, found in various States of the Union, 364-366\n    religious use of, 235-274\n    sex of, 40, 41, 42\n    symbolizing initials of names 47-50\n    therapeutic effect of, 367-391\n    to express acrostics, 359\n    worn by Chinese mandarins to designate rank, 256\n\n  Prehnite, 365\n\n  Preston, Richard, curative sapphire of, 387, 388\n\n  Price, Prof. Ira Maurice, 233\n\n  Procopius, 283\n\n  Psellus, 381\n\n  Ptolemy II, Philadelphus, 67, 93\n\n  Pueblo Bonito, relics from, 81, 92, 112, 113\n\n  Pueblo Indians, 81, 92, 112\n\n  _Punamu_, New Zealand jade, 87-90, 254\n\n  Puranas, 236, 241\n\n  Pyrites, Aztec mirrors of, 99\n    \u201cfools\u2019 gold,\u201d 99\n\n  Pyrope, 34\n\n\n  Q\n\n  Quartz, 122, 145, 298\n    cat\u2019s-eye, 334\n\n  \u201cQuestions of King Melinda,\u201d extract from, 235\n\n\n  R\n\n  Rabanus Maurus, 305, 314\n\n  Rabelais, 349\n\n  Radium, 381\n\n  Raleigh, Sir Walter, 383\n\n  Raziel, Book of, 132\n\n  Read, Sir Charles Hercules, vii\n\n  Red, Christian symbolism of, 273\n    gems in dreams, 357\n    in occult ritual, 336\n    significance of, 30\n    stones, therapeutic effect of, 370\n    worn in Siam for Sunday, 335\n    Sea, chrysolites from island in, 66\n\n  Reinach, Dr. Salomon, vii\n\n  R\u00e9musat, Abel, 300\n\n  Reuben, 289, 291\n\n  Revelation, book of, 236, 275, 295, 302, 303, 304, 307, 310, 311, 318\n\n  Rhodolite, from North Carolina, 365\n\n  Rhodonite, gem of Russia, 364\n\n  Ridgeley, Prof. W., 203\n\n  Rig Veda, of seven ratnas, 243\n\n  Ring of _elm\u00eashu_-stone, 231\n    engagement, combining all favorable influences, 362\n    Gyges, 7\n    St. Elizabeth, 165\n    St. Valentine, 257\n\n  Rings set with scarabs, 119\n    seven, of Apollonius of Tyana, 244\n    with initials, 359\n\n  Rock-crystal, 10, 122, 133, 217, 236, 244, 265, 292, 336\n    as religious symbol, 100\n    Aztec skull of, 100, 101\n    gem of Aries, 347\n      of the moon, 348\n    god Maya\u2019s tank of, 237\n    humorous tale of, 101\n    temples of, in China, 101\n    used as fetich by Cherokees, 254\n\n  \u201cRoman de la Rose,\u201d magic stones in, 43\n\n  Rosicrucians, 269\n\n  Rostand, Edmond, 138\n\n  Rubellite, 360\n\n  Ruby, 10, 26, 33, 40, 101-103, 124, 133, 234, 236, 238, 240, 241,\n        242, 243, 244, 280, 292, 343, 372, 375, 381\n    as natal stone, 308, 316, 319, 320, 335\n    curative effects of, 28\n    embedded in flesh by Burmese, 103\n    gem of Capricorn, 347\n      of Mars, 348, 349\n      of Summer, 323, 324\n      of Taurus, 343, 347\n    in dreams, 357\n    lost and regained brilliancy, 159\n    luminosity of, 101, 102\n    luminous, of King of Ceylon, 165, 166\n      of Pegu, 165\n      of St. Elizabeth, 165\n    names of Hindu castes given to, 102\n    ominous, of Gabelchover, 158\n    therapeutic effect of, 370\n\n  Rudolph II of Germany, 5, 189, 343\n\n  Rumphius, Georg Eberhard, 62\n\n  Ruskin, John, on crystals, 46\n\n  Rutile, 50\n\n\n  S\n\n  \u201cSacro Bambino\u201d of Rome, 260, 261\n\n  \u201cSacro Catino\u201d of Genoa, 258, 259\n\n  Sagittarius, zodiacal sign, 342, 347, 354\n\n  Sahagun, Bernardino de, 247, 251, 390\n\n  Sailors\u2019 amulets, 38\n\n  Salisbury, John of, 183\n\n  Sapphire, 31, 32, 40, 102, 104-107, 124, 133, 236, 241, 242, 243, 244,\n            245, 280, 293, 296, 303, 305, 313, 320, 336, 375\n    as antidote for poisons, 104, 105\n    as symbol of St. Paul, 312\n    called \u201cLe Saphire Merveilleux,\u201d 105\n    gem of Autumn, 323, 325\n      of Jupiter, 348\n      of Saturn, 349\n      of Taurus, 346\n      of Venus, 348\n    great star-sapphire of Morgan-Tiffany collection, 107\n    in breastplate, 276\n    in ecclesiastical rings, 104, 371\n    named from Hindu castes, 344\n    pavement of God\u2019s throne, 275\n    procures favor of Saturn, 344\n    Sanskrit names of, 344\n    star-sapphire of Sir Richard Burton, 106\n    tables of the Law of, 104\n    therapeutic effect of, 370, 386-389\n\n  _Sappir_, stone of breastplate, 293\n\n  Sard, 107, 305\n    as symbol of St. Philip, 312\n    a foundation stone, 303\n    in breastplate, 276, 290\n\n  Sardonyx, 290, 292, 303, 305, 313, 319, 320\n    as symbol of St. James, 312\n\n  Saturn, planet, 32, 243, 330, 344, 348, 352, 353, 354, 355\n\n  Saxo, Arnoldus, 59\n\n  _Scarab\u00e6us sacer_, 115, 116\n\n  Scaraboid seal, 122\n\n  Scarabs, Egyptian, 115-119, 132, 140, 227, 228, 229\n\n  Schliemann, Heinrich, 57\n\n  Scorpio, zodiacal sign, 340, 342, 347, 352, 355\n\n  Scott, Sir Walter, 143, 183\n\n  Seals, Babylonian, 121-123\n    Cretan, 123\n    one of Napoleon, 64, 142\n\n  Seasonal gems, 323, 324\n\n  \u201cSeeress of Prevorst,\u201d 9\n\n  Selenite, 336, 349\n\n  Sendal, Nathaniel, 57, 58\n\n  Sentiment, 8, 9\n    for each day of week, 332-335\n    for each month in connection with natal gems, 326-331\n\n  Septuagint, 290, 291, 297, 298, 301\n\n  Serapis, image of, in talisman, 124\n\n  \u201cSerpent Isle,\u201d 66\n\n  Serpentine, 108, 121, 122, 229, 252, 291, 298\n\n  Sex in gems, 40, 41, 42, 72\n\n  Shakespeare in \u201cTwelfth Night\u201d of opal, 150\n\n  Shamash, Assyrian sun-god, 233\n\n  _Shamir_ (emery), 278, 294\n\n  Sheard, Virna, 12\n\n  _Shebo_, stone of breastplate, 296\n\n  Shelley, Percy Bysshe, 13\n\n  Siam, King of, luminous carbuncles of, 62\n\n  Siegstein, or \u201cVictory Stone,\u201d 106\n\n  Signorelli, Luca, 390\n\n  Simeon, 289, 291\n\n  Sin, Assyrian moon-god, 92\n\n  Sindbad the Sailor and diamonds, 75\n\n  \u201cSleeping-stone,\u201d 163, 164\n\n  _Smaragdus_ (emerald), 291\n\n  Sodalite, gem of Canada, 363\n\n  Solomon, King, precious stones of, 78\n\n  Sophia, St., in Constantinople, 266, 283\n\n  Sophocles, 56\n\n  Soudan, agate amulets in the, 54\n\n  Sources, literary, 13-18\n\n  Spartianus, 178\n\n  _Specularii_, 183, 184\n\n  \u201cSpeculum lapidum\u201d of Camillo Leonardo, 18\n\n  Spener, John Jacob, 159\n\n  Spessartite, from Virginia, 366\n\n  Sphalerite, 171\n\n  Spinel, 10, 102\n    therapeutic effect of, 370\n\n  Spodumene, 48\n\n  Star-ruby, 334\n\n  Star-sapphire, 8, 106, 107\n    in sword-hilt of King of Greece, 334\n\n  Staurolite Fairy Stones, plate\n\n  Staurolite, religious symbolism of, 271\n\n  Steatite, 265\n\n  Stone Age, amber in deposits of, 55\n    idols of, 23\n\n  \u201cStone of Destiny,\u201d 107\n\n  \u201cStone of Forgetfulness,\u201d 35\n\n  \u201cStone of Hate,\u201d 35\n\n  \u201cStone of Love,\u201d 35\n\n  \u201cStone of Memory,\u201d 35\n\n  \u201cStones of Power\u201d in Scottish regalia, 183\n\n  Stones with natural images, 266-269\n\n  _Storchstein_, 162\n\n  Suetonius, 341\n\n  Sumerian magic formula, 35\n\n  Sunstone, 366\n\n  Superstition, v, 1-5, 8, 9\n\n  Swastika emblem, 135, 265\n\n  Sylvester, St., stone, 258\n\n  Sympathy and antipathy, doctrine of, 24\n\n\n  T\n\n  Tabari, 286\n\n  Tagore, Rajah Sir Sourindro Mohun, viii\n\n  Takowaya, Russia, alexandrite found in the, 54\n\n  Talismanic gems, 1, 42, 52, 124, 322\n    girdle of Catharine de\u2019 Medici set with, 317\n    of the hours, 337\n    of the months, 326-331\n    of the week, 332, 333\n\n  Talismans, etymology of word, 23\n    from New Caledonia, 23\n    of jade favored by Mohammedans, 246\n    see _amulet_, and separate stones\n    temple gifts as, 241\n\n  Talmud, 71, 73, 275, 306, 377\n\n  Tamerlane, ruthlessness of, 32\n\n  _Tarshish_, stone of breastplate, 297, 298\n\n  Taurus, zodiacal sign, 341, 342, 343, 346, 353, 354\n\n  Tavernier, Jean Baptiste, 260\n\n  Taw Sien Ko, vii\n\n  \u201cTecalco onyx,\u201d 252\n\n  Teifashi, Ahmed, 75, 104, 158, 381\n\n  Tempe, Arizona, turquoise in ruins of Los Muertos near, 112\n\n  Tetragrammaton, 182\n\n  Thayngen, Switzerland, jet of, 91\n\n  Theophrastus, 290, 293, 299, 370\n\n  Thomas, N. W., 180\n\n  Thomsonite, 365\n\n  Thoth, 16\n\n  Thothmes II, talisman of, 120\n\n  Tiberius, 342\n\n  Tiffany, Charles L., 172\n\n  Tiffany & Co., 172\n\n  Tiffany Collection, 106, 219\n\n  Titus, 283, 289\n\n  Topaz, 40, 133, 238, 242, 243, 244, 245, 291, 297, 298, 303, 305,\n         313, 344\n    as symbol of St. Matthew, 312\n    gem of Sagittarius, 347\n    in breastplate, 276\n    therapeutic effect of, 372, 389\n\n  Topazos, island of, 67\n\n  Totten, Lieut., on Hebrew tribes, 288\n\n  Tourmaline, 320, 321\n    gem of New England, 364\n\n  Trees bearing precious stones, 232\n    Kalpa tree, 238\n\n  Trevisa, John of, 105\n\n  Triboluminescence, 173\n\n  Tritheim, Abbot, 181\n\n  Trocad\u00e9ro, Paris, 99\n\n  Tullia, daughter of Cicero, emerald of, 31\n\n  Turquoise, 6, 37, 64, 108-114, 336, 345, 375\n    Apache name for, 113\n    as natal stone, 308, 320\n    De Boot\u2019s tale of a, 109, 110\n    fading of, indicating illness, 24, 26, 114\n    from Los Cerillos, N. M., 111\n    from Pueblo Bonito, N. M., 112, 113\n    from Los Muertos, Arizona, 112\n    gem of Jupiter, 348\n    Persians\u2019 praise of, 111\n    protecting from falls, 24, 26, 109, 110\n    strikes the hour, 111\n    talismanic virtues of, 114\n    usually worn by men in 17th century, 111\n    with Aztecs, 247\n    with Navajos, 246\n\n  Tyszkiewicz Collection, 234\n\n\n  U\n\n  Umi\u00f1a, emerald goddess of Peruvians, 247, 248\n\n  United States, principal gem-stones found in various States\n    of the, 364-366\n\n  _Uparatnani_, four minor gems of the _naoratna_, 243\n\n  Urim and Thummim, 231, 277, 282, 283, 287\n\n  Utahlite, 361\n\n\n  V\n\n  Vajra, \u201cthe thunderbolt,\u201d Sanskrit name of diamond, 239, 343\n\n  Valentine, St., ring of, 257\n\n  \u201cValley of Diamonds,\u201d 74, 75\n\n  Varro, 22\n\n  Vasari, 390\n\n  Venus, goddess, emerald dedicated to, 28\n    planet, 243, 336, 344, 348, 352, 353, 354, 355\n    represented by blue, 31\n\n  Verrall, Mrs. A. W., 211\n\n  Vespasian, 283\n\n  Vesta, necklace of, taken by Serena, 235\n\n  Vesuvianite, 50\n\n  \u201cVictory Stone,\u201d 68\n\n  Violet, Christian symbolism of, 273\n    symbolism of, 32\n\n  Violet-blue, curative effects of, 33\n\n  Virgin Mary, 30, 130, 175, 261, 262, 266, 267, 268, 273\n    rich decorations of statue of, at Loreto, 262, 263\n\n  Virgen del Sagrario, Toledo, emerald of, 261, 262\n\n  Virgo, zodiacal sign, 341, 346\n\n  Vishnu, 236, 241\n\n  Voiture, his letter on curative use of jade, 383, 384\n\n  Volmar, \u201cSteinbuch\u201d of, 67, 109, 373\n\n  Vulgate, 290, 291, 292, 301\n\n\n  W\n\n  Wada, Dr. T., vii\n\n  Walker, T. B., 254\n\n  Walpole, Horace, 195\n\n  Ward, Dr. W. Hayes, vii\n\n  Wedding anniversaries, gems for, 337\n\n  Wenceslaus, St., supposed emerald in chapel of, 259\n\n  Whitby Abbey, 263\n\n  White, Christian symbolism of, 273\n    significance of, 30\n    worn in Siam, for Monday, 335\n\n  \u201cWhite sapphire\u201d (corundum), 72\n\n  Wiedemann, Dr. Alfred, 121\n\n  Willemite, 171\n\n  Wissler, Dr. Clark, vii\n\n  Witherite, 9, 10\n\n  Wood-opal, 50\n\n  World\u2019s Columbian Exhibition, vi, 51\n\n  Wright, Thomas, 221\n\n  W\u00fcrtemberg, jet deposits of, 91\n\n\n  Y\n\n  _Yahalom_, stone of breastplate, 294, 295\n\n  _Yarkastein_, 146\n\n  _Yashpeh_, stone of breastplate, 299\n\n  Yellow, Christian symbolism of, 273\n    curative effects of, 28\n    girdle worn by Chinese emperors, 245\n    in occult ritual, 336\n    significance of, 29\n    stones, therapeutic effect of, 370\n\n\n  Z\n\n  Zebulun, 289, 295\n\n  Zechariah, 294\n\n  Zenochlorite, 360\n\n  Zircon (hyacinth), 238\n\n  Zodiacal gems, 1, 124, 131, 310, 321, 322, 338-363\n    stones of the various signs, 345-347\n\n  Zodiacal signs associated with the Twelve Tribes, 314\n    names of, in Hebrew, 332\n\n\n\n\nFOOTNOTES:\n\n\n[1] Jean de la Taille de Bondaroy, \u201cLe Blason de la Marguerite,\u201d Paris,\n1574.\n\n[2] De Boot, \u201cGemmarum et lapidum historia,\u201d lib. i, cap. 25, Lug.\nBat., 1636, pp. 87, 91.\n\n[3] De Boot, \u201cGemmarum et lapidum historia,\u201d lib. i, cap. 26, Lug.\nBat., 1636, p. 103.\n\n[4] Mackey, \u201cMemoirs of Extraordinary Popular Delusions,\u201d London, n.\nd., p. 144.\n\n[5] Nicols, \u201cFaithful Lapidary,\u201d London, 1659, pp. 32, 33.\n\n[6] G\u00f6rres, \u201cDie christliche Mystik,\u201d Regensburg, 1840, vol. iii, pp.\n190 sqq.\n\n[7] Virna Sheard, \u201cThe Jewelled Princess,\u201d in Canadian Magazine.\n\n[8] De M\u00e9ly, \u201cLes lapidaires de l\u2019antiquit\u00e9 et du moyen-\u00e2ge,\u201d vol. ii,\n\u201cLes lapidaires grecs,\u201d Paris, 1898, pp. 1-50.\n\n[9] Lucas, \u201cThe Swallowing Stones by Seals,\u201d Science, N. S., vol. xx,\nNo. 512, pp. 537, 538; Report of Fur Seal Investigation, vol. iii, p.\n68.\n\n[10] Hoernes, \u201cUrgeschichte der bildenden Kunst,\u201d Wien, 1898, p. 108.\n\n[11] Giglioli, \u201cMateriale per lo studio della \u2018Et\u00e0 della Pietra,\u2019\u201d\nArchivio per l\u2019Antropologia e l\u2019Etnologia, vol. xxxi, p. 83, Firenze,\n1901.\n\n[12] Rose, \u201cHandleiding tot de Kennis van diamanten,\u201d etc., Amsterdam,\n1891, p. 110.\n\n[13] \u201cDella storia naturale delle Gemme,\u201d Napoli, 1730, Vol. I, pp.\n131-137.\n\n[14] Il., xxiv, 795, 796.\n\n[15] Paper by Dr. Paul Ferez in the Revue de l\u2019Hypnotisme, Paris, No.\n10, April, 1906, p. 306.\n\n[16] Erasmi, \u201cColloquia,\u201d Lipsi\u00e6, 1713, pp. 597-8. Suggested by Pliny,\nlib. xxxvii, cap. 71-73.\n\n[17] Morris Jastrow, \u201cDie Religion Babyloniens und Assyriens,\u201d vol. i,\nGiessen, 1905, p. 374.\n\n[18] Morris Jastrow, l. c., p. 462.\n\n[19] Delitzsch, \u201cAssyrisches W\u00f6rterbuch,\u201d Leipzig, 1896, p. 604.\n\n[20] \u201cAegyptische Goldschmiedearbeit,\u201d ed. by Heinrich Sch\u00e4ffer,\nBerlin, 1910, pp. 25-32; necklace figured on Pl. V, other objects on\nPls. V-VII.\n\n[21] Ibid., p. 14, Pl. II, figs. 3a, 3b.\n\n[22] See Reisner, \u201cCatalogue g\u00e9n\u00e9rale des antiquit\u00e9s \u00e9gyptiennes du\nMus\u00e9e du Caire: Amulets\u201d Le Caire, 1907.\n\n[23] Pitra, \u201cSpecilegium Solesmense,\u201d Parisiis, 1855, vol. iii, p. 393.\n\n[24] Kropatschek, \u201cDe amuletorum apud antiquos usu,\u201d Gryphi\u00e6, 1907, p.\n24 (Paris papyrus, 2630).\n\n[25] Surindro Mohun Tagore, \u201cMani M\u00e1l\u00e1,\u201d Pt. II, Calcutta, 1881, p. 943.\n\n[26] Seler, \u201cCodex Borgia: Eine altmexicanische Bilderschrift,\u201d Berlin,\n1904, vol. i, p. 16.\n\n[27] Francisci Ruei, \u201cDe gemmis,\u201d Tiguri, 1566, f. 4.\n\n[28] \u201cHistoire critique des pratiques superstitieuses; par un pr\u00eatre de\nl\u2019Oratoire,\u201d Paris, 1702, p. 320.\n\n[29] Blum, \u201cDas altj\u00fcdische Zauberwesen,\u201d Strassburg, 1898, p. 91.\n\n[30] A projection serving to fasten down the belt.\n\n[31] Compleat Works of Geoffrey Chaucer, ed. Skeat, Oxford, 1894, vol.\ni, p. 139.\n\n[32] Matth\u00e6i Paris, \u201cHistoria major,\u201d London, 1684, p. 318.\n\n[33] \u201cLe Grand Lapidaire\u201d of Jean de Mandeville, Vienna, 1862, pp.\n126-128.\n\n[34] G\u00fcdermann, \u201cDas j\u00fcdische Unterrichtswesen,\u201d Wien, 1873, p. 225.\n\n[35] \u201cEthics of the Dust,\u201d New York, 1886, p. 96.\n\n[36] See also the writer\u2019s pamphlet: \u201cThe Folk-Lore of Precious\nStones,\u201d Chicago, 1894; a paper read before the Folk-Lore Congress held\nat the World\u2019s Columbian Exhibition, and describing the Kunz Collection\nexhibited in the Anthropological Building there. This collection is now\nin the Field Museum, Chicago.\n\n[37] King\u2019s version in his \u201cNatural History of Precious Stones,\u201d\nLondon, 1865, p. 392.\n\n[38] Marbodei, \u201cDe lapidibus,\u201d Friburgi, 1531, fol. 10.\n\n[39] Camilli Leonardi, \u201cSpeculum lapidum,\u201d Venetia, 1502, fol. 22.\n\n[40] Albertus Magnus, \u201cLe Grand Albert des secretz des vertus des\nHerbes, Pierres et Bestes. Et aultre livre des Merveilles du Monde,\nd\u2019aulcuns effetz causez daulcunes bestes,\u201d Turin, Bernard du mont du\nChat (c. 1515). Liv. ii, fol. 8 recto.\n\n[41] Cardani, \u201cDe subtilitate,\u201d Basile\u00e6, 1560, p. 460.\n\n[42] Cardani, \u201cDe gemmis,\u201d Basile\u00e6, 1585, p. 323.\n\n[43] Valentini, \u201cMuseum museorum oder die vollst\u00e4ndige Schau-B\u00fchne,\u201d\nFranckfurt am Mayn, 1714, vol. ii, pt. 3, p. 34; figure of air-ship on\np. 35.\n\n[44] Hoernes, \u201cUrgeschichte der bildenden Kunst,\u201d Vienna, 1898, p. 376.\nFigured in S. Muller\u2019s \u201cOrdn. af Danm. Olds.,\u201d i, Pl. XV, Figs. 252 sq.\n\n[45] Ovidii, \u201cMetamorphoses,\u201d lib. ii, 11. 340 sqq. Some have proposed\nto read Redanus instead of Eridanus and have seen in the former name\nthe designation of a stream flowing into the Vistula.\n\n[46] Plinii, \u201cNaturalis Historia,\u201d lib. xxxvii, cap. 7.\n\n[47] Bk. xviii, 11, 295-298, trans. of William Cullen Bryant.\n\n[48] Du Chaillu, \u201cThe Viking Age,\u201d New York, 1889, vol. ii, p. 314.\n(Figs. 1210, 1211, 1212.)\n\n[49] Sendelii, \u201cElectrologi\u00e6,\u201d Elbing\u00e6, 1725, Pt. I, p. 12, note.\n\n[50] Camilli Leonardi, \u201cSpeculum lapidum,\u201d Venetia, 1502, fol. 22.\n\n[51] Johannis de Cuba, \u201cHortus Sanitatis,\u201d [Strassburg, 1483]\ntractatus de lapibus, cap. vii.\n\n[52] Belleau, \u201c\u0152uvres po\u00e9tiques,\u201d ed. Marty-Laveaux, Paris, 1878, vol.\nii, pp. 172 sqq. The poem in which this tale occurs is the \u201cAmours\net nouveaux eschanges des pierres pr\u00e9cieuses,\u201d written in 1576 and\ndedicated to Henri III.\n\n[53] Rose, \u201cAristotles de lapidibus und Arnoldus Saxo,\u201d in Zeitschr.\nf\u00fcr D. Alt., New Series, vol. vi, p. 431.\n\n[54] Konrad von Megenberg, \u201cBuch der Natur,\u201d ed. by Dr. Franz Pfeiffer,\nStuttgart, 1861, p. 436.\n\n[55] Pitra, \u201cSpecilegium Solesmense,\u201d Parisiis, 1855, vol. iii, p. 325.\n\n[56] Kropatschek, \u201cDe amuletorum apud antiquos usu,\u201d Gryphi\u00e6, 1907, p.\n16.\n\n[57] Cardani, \u201cPhilosophi opera qu\u00e6dam lectu digna,\u201d Basile\u00e6, 1585, p.\n323. \u201cDe gemmis.\u201d\n\n[58] Rumphius, \u201cAmboinsche Rariteitkamer,\u201d Amsterdam, 1741, p. 308.\n\n[59] Goethe West\u00f6sterlicher Divan I, Segenspf\u00e4nder.\n\n[60] \u201cLapidario del Rey D. Alfonso X,\u201d codice original, Madrid, 1881,\nfol. 77, p. 49.\n\n[61] Hendley, \u201cIndian Jewellery,\u201d London, 1909, p. 158.\n\n[62] Arakel, \u201cLivre d\u2019histoire,\u201d chap. liii; transl. in Brosset,\n\u201cCollection d\u2019historiens arm\u00e9niens,\u201d St. P\u00e9tersburg, 1874, vol. i, pp.\n544, 545.\n\n[63] Josephi Gonelli, \u201cThesaurus philosophicus, seu de gemmis,\u201d\nNeapoli, 1702, p. 112.\n\n[64] \u201cGemmarum et lapidum historia,\u201d Lug. Bat., 1636, p. 230.\n\n[65] Agatharcides, \u201cDe Mar1 Erythr\u00e6o,\u201d \u00a72. The topaz of the ancients\nwas unquestionably the gem commonly called chrysolite at present\n(olivine, peridot).\n\n[66] Diodorus Siculus, lib. iii, cap. 38.\n\n[67] Plinii, \u201cNaturalis Historia,\u201d lib. xxxvii, cap. 32.\n\n[68] Marbodei, \u201cDe lapidibus,\u201d Friburgi, 1531, fol. 16.\n\n[69] Volmar, Steinbuch, ed. by Hans Lambel, Heilbronn, 1877, p. 22.\n\n[70] Alberti Magni, \u201cOpera Omnia,\u201d ed. Borgnet, Parisiis, 1890, vol. v,\np. 43. De mineralibus, lib. ii, tract. 2.\n\n[71] Bauer, \u201cEdelsteinkunde,\u201d Leipzig, 1909, p. 750.\n\n[72] Albertus Magnus, \u201cLe Grand Albert des secretz des vertus des\nHerbes, Pierres et Bestes. Et aultre livre des Merveilles du Monde,\nd\u2019aulcuns effetz causez daulcunes bestes,\u201d Turin, Bernard du mont du\nChat (c. 1515). Liv. ii, fol. 9 recto.\n\n[73] Bellucci, \u201cIl feticismo primitivo in Italia,\u201d Perugia, 1907, pp.\n22-25.\n\n[74] \u201cDe lapidibus,\u201d Friburgi, 1531, f. 8.\n\n[75] St. Hildegard\u00e6, \u201cOpera Omnia,\u201d in Pat. Lat. ed Migne, vol. cxcvii,\ncol. 1254.\n\n[76] \u201cDe gemmis,\u201d Tiguri, 1566, f. 52.\n\n[77] \u201cPhilosophi opera qu\u00e6dam lectu digna,\u201d Basile\u00e6, 1585, p. 322. \u201cDe\ngemmis.\u201d\n\n[78] Anonymous writer in Ital. MS. of the fourteenth century in the\nauthor\u2019s library; fol. 41 p. verso.\n\n[79] See page 278 for description of this diamond by St. Epiphanius.\n\n[80] Finot, \u201cLes lapidaires indiens,\u201d Paris, 1896, p. 9.\n\n[81] Finot, \u201cLes lapidaires indiens,\u201d Paris, 1896, p. 8.\n\n[82] Finot, l. c., p. 9.\n\n[83] Konrad von Megenberg, \u201cBuch der Natur,\u201d ed. by Dr. Franz Pfeiffer,\nStuttgart, 1861, p. 433.\n\n[84] New edition of the Babylonian Talmud, ed. and trans. by Michael L.\nRodkinson, vol. v (xiii), Baba Batra, New York, 1902, p. 207.\n\n[85] Ratzel, \u201cV\u00f6lkerkunde,\u201d Leipzig, 1885, vol. i, p. 36.\n\n[86] Dr. Julius Ruska, \u201cDas Steinbuch aus der Kosmographie des\nal-Kazwini,\u201d Beilage zum Jahresbericht 1894-5 der Oberrealschule\nHeidelberg, p. 35. See Aristoteles De Lapidibus und Arnoldus Saxo,\ned. Rose, Z.f.D.A. New Series VI, pp. 364, 365, 389, 390. The \u201cother\nwriter\u201d is probably Ahmed Teifashi.\n\n[87] The work on precious stones attributed to Aristotle was composed\nin Arabic probably in the ninth century.\n\n[88] Teifashi, \u201cFior di pensieri sulle pietre preziose,\u201d Firenzi, 1818,\np. 13.\n\n[89] Proc. of the Royal Irish Academy, 2d Ser., Polite Literature and\nAntiquities, vol. ii, Dublin, 1879-1888, p. 303.\n\n[90] Epiphanii, \u201cDe XII gemmis,\u201d Tiguri, 1565, fol. 5.\n\n[91] Morales, \u201cDe las piedras preciosas,\u201d Valladolid, 1604, fol. 101.\n\n[92] Marbodei, \u201cDe lapidibus,\u201d Friburgi, 1531, fol. 48; Camilli\nLeonardi, \u201cSpeculum lapidum,\u201d Venetia, 1502, fol. xliii.\n\n[93] Fol. 55 recto of Ital. MS., 14th Century. Reference is to Bela IV\n(1235-1270). Lo reo dilugaria bela loqale in di nostri tempi regna.\n\n[94] Weil, \u201cBiblische Legenden,\u201d p. 225.\n\n[95] Cardani, \u201cPhilosophi opera qu\u00e6dam,\u201d Basile\u00e6, 1585, p. 328. \u201cDe\ngemmis.\u201d\n\n[96] Albertus Magnus, \u201cLe Grand Albert des secrets des vertus des\nHerbes, Pierres et Bestes. Et aultre livre des Merveilles du Monde,\nd\u2019aulcuns effetz causez daulcunes bestes,\u201d Turin, Bernard du mont du\nChat (c. 1515). Liv. ii, fol. 11.\n\n[97] \u201cNaturalis historia,\u201d lib. xxxvii, cap. 60.\n\n[98] George H. Pepper, \u201cThe Exploration of a Burial-room in Pueblo\nBonito, New Mexico,\u201d Putnam Anniversary Volume, New York, 1909, p. 239;\nFig. 5.\n\n[99] Marbodei, \u201cDe lapidibus,\u201d Friburgi, 1531, fol. 38.\n\n[100] Cardani, \u201cPhilosophi opera qu\u00e6dam,\u201d Basile\u00e6, 1585, p. 323. \u201cDe\ngemmis.\u201d\n\n[101] S. Hildegard\u00e6, Opera omnia; in. Pat. Lat. ed. J. P. Migne, vol.\ncxcvii, Parisiis, 1855, col. 1251.\n\n[102] Cardani, \u201cDe subtilitate,\u201d Basile\u00e6, 1560, pp. 442-3.\n\n[103] Chalfant, \u201cEarly Chinese Writing,\u201d Mem. of Carnegie Museum, vol.\niv, No. 1, Pittsburg, 1906, p. 10 and Pl. XX, No. 275. See also Pl. X,\nNo. 132; _pei_, \u201cshell,\u201d \u201cvalue,\u201d as shells were used as money in very\nancient times.\n\n[104] Chalfant, \u201cEarly Chinese Writing,\u201d Pl. XXII, No. 299.\n\n[105] \u201cCatalogue of the Woodward Collection of Jades and other Hard\nStones,\u201d by John Getz, Privately printed (New York), 1913, p. 11, No.\n24.\n\n[106] Zelia Nuttall, \u201cThe Fundamental Principles of Old and New World\nCivilization,\u201d Cambridge, Mass., 1901, p. 195. Arch\u00e6ological and\nEthnographical Papers of the Peabody Museum, Harvard University, vol.\nii.\n\n[107] The Bishop Collection. \u201cInvestigations and Studies in Jade,\u201d New\nYork, privately printed, 1906, vol. i, pt. iii, \u201cJade as a Mineral,\u201d by\nGeorge Frederick Kunz, p. 117. Nos. 421 and 646 of the collection are\nexcellent examples of this special jade.\n\n[108] The Bishop Collection. \u201cInvestigations and Studies in Jade,\u201d\nNew York, 1906, vol. i, p. 12. Privately printed and edition limited\nto 100 copies. For a description of this monumental work see \u201cThe\nPrinted Catalogue of the Heber R. Bishop Collection of Jade,\u201d by George\nFrederick Kunz, supplement to the Bulletin of the Metropolitan Museum\nof Art for May, 1906, Occasional Notes, No. 1.\n\n[109] See Fischer, \u201cUeber die Nephritindustrie der Maoris in\nNeuseeland,\u201d Archiv f\u00fcr Anthropologie, vol. xv, Braunschweig, 1884, pp.\n463-466.\n\n[110] King\u2019s version in his Natural History of Precious Stones, London,\n1865, p. 382.\n\n[111] Pitra, \u201cSpecilegium Solesmense,\u201d Parisiis, 1855, p. 328.\n\n[112] Epiphanius, \u201cDe XII gemmis,\u201d Tiguri, 1565, fols. 7, 8.\n\n[113] Birlinger, \u201cKleinere deutsche Sprachdenkm\u00e4ler,\u201d in Germania, vol.\nviii (1863), p. 302.\n\n[114] Bartolom\u00e6i Anglici \u201cDe proprietatibus rerum,\u201d London, Wynkyn de\nWorde, 1495, lib. xvi, cap. 51, De Jaspide. Old English version by John\nof Trevisa.\n\n[115] Hoernes, \u201cUrgeschichte der bildenden Kunst,\u201d Wien, 1898, pp. 22,\n24.\n\n[116] Dupont, \u201cL\u2019homme pendant les \u00e2ges de la pierre,\u201d Brussels, 1872,\npp. 156 sqq.\n\n[117] Pepper, \u201cThe Exploration of a Burial-room in Pueblo Bonito,\u201d\nPutnam Anniversary Volume, New York, 1909, p. 237.\n\n[118] Ward, \u201cSeal Cylinders of Western Asia,\u201d Washington, D. C., 1910,\np. 121; citing Jastrow, \u201cReligion,\u201d p. 303.\n\n[119] Albertus Magnus, \u201cLe Grand Albert des secretz des vertus des\nHerbes, Pierres et Bestes. Et aultre livre des Merveilles du Monde,\nd\u2019aulcuns effetz causez daulcunes bestes,\u201d Turin, Bernard du mont du\nChat (c. 1515). Liv. ii, fol. 11, recto.\n\n[120] The Tim\u00e6us of Plato, ed. by R. R. Archer-Hind, London, 1888, p.\n302, note.\n\n[121] Plinii, \u201cHistoria naturalis,\u201d Venetiis, 1507, fol. 269 verso,\nlib. xxxvi, cap. 16.\n\n[122] Plinii, l. c., fol. 254, verso, lib. xxxiv, cap. 14.\n\n[123] King\u2019s metrical version in his \u201cNatural History of Gems,\u201d London,\n1865, p. 226.\n\n[124] John of Trevisa\u2019s version (made in 1396) of Bartholom\u00e6us\nAnglicus\u2019 \u201cDe proprietatibus rerum,\u201d London, Wynkyn de Worde, 1495,\nlib. xvi, cap. 43, De Magnete.\n\n[125] Bartolom\u00e6i Anglici, \u201cDe proprietatibus rerum,\u201d l. c.\n\n[126] Lucian, Imag. I.\n\n[127] Klaproth, \u201cLettre \u00e0 M. le Baron A. de Humboldt sur l\u2019invention de\nla boussole,\u201d Paris, 1834, p. 20.\n\n[128] From El Kazwini\u2019s \u201cAdj\u00e2\u00efl el makluquat\u201d; cited in marginal note,\nvol. i, pp. 310, 311, of El Damu\u2019s \u201cHayat el hayau\u00e2n,\u201d Cairo, 1313\n(1895).\n\n[129] Kunz, \u201cGems and Precious Stones of North America,\u201d New York,\n1890, p. 192.\n\n[130] Marbodei, \u201cDe lapidibus,\u201d Friburgi, 1531, fol. 51; Camilli\nLeonardi, \u201cSpeculum lapidum,\u201d Venetia, 1502, fol. xxxviii.\n\n[131] Chiocci, \u201cMuseum Calceolarium,\u201d Veron\u00e6, 1622, p. 227.\n\n[132] De Boot, \u201cGemmarum et lapidum historia,\u201d Lug. Bat., 1636, p. 264,\nlib. ii, cap. 113.\n\n[133] Marbodei, \u201cDe lapidibus,\u201d Friburgi, 1531, fol. 51.\n\n[134] \u201cLes secrets de la Lune,\u201d Paris, 1571.\n\n[135] Cardani, \u201cDe subtilitate,\u201d lib. vii, Basile\u00e6, 1560, p. 464.\n\n[136] \u201cHandbook of American Indians North of Mexico,\u201d ed. by Frederick\nWebb Hodge; Smithsonian Inst.; Bur. Am. Ethn., Bull. 30; Washington,\n1910, Pt. 2, p. 331.\n\n[137] Kunz, \u201cGems and Precious Stones of North America,\u201d New York,\n1890, pp. 299, 300.\n\n[138] Sancti Eusebii Hieronymi \u201cOpera Omnia,\u201d ed. Migne, vol. iv,\nParisiis, 1865, col. 545.\n\n[139] Pfizmeier, \u201cBeitr\u00e4ge zur Geschichte der Edelsteinen und des\nGoldes,\u201d Sitzungsbericht d. phil. hist. Kl., Wien, vol. lviii, 1868, p.\n200.\n\n[140] Pfizmeier, l. c., p. 201.\n\n[141] Garbe, \u201cDie indische Mineralien; Naharari\u2019s R\u00e2janighantu, Varga\nXIII,\u201d Leipzig, 1882, p. 70.\n\n[142] Epiplianii, \u201cDe XII gemmis,\u201d Tiguri, 1565, fol. 5.\n\n[143] Camilli Leonardi, \u201cSpeculum lapidum,\u201d Venetia, 1502, fol. xxvi.\n\n[144] Pannier, \u201cLes lapidaires fran\u00e7ais,\u201d Paris, 1882, pp. 246, 264,\n295. Cited in Schofield, \u201cThe Pearl,\u201d Pub. of Mod. Lang. Asso. of Am.,\nvol. xxiv, Pt. 4, p. 599.\n\n[145] Surindro Mohun Tagore, \u201cMani M\u00e1l\u00e1,\u201d Pt. I, Calcutta, 1879, p. 199.\n\n[146] \u201cLe grand lapidaire de Jean de Mandeville,\u201d from the ed. of 1561,\ned. by J. S. del Sotto, Vienne, 1862, p. 8.\n\n[147] Taw Sein Ko, communication from his \u201cBurmese Necromancy.\u201d\n\n[148] Pitra, \u201cSpecilegium Solesmense,\u201d Parisiis, 1855, vol. iii, p. 328.\n\n[149] Epiphanii, \u201cDe XII gemmis,\u201d Tiguri, 1565, fol. 6.\n\n[150] Marbodei, \u201cDe lapidibus,\u201d Friburgi, 1531, fols. 46, 47.\n\n[151] Bartolom\u00e6i Anglici, \u201cDe proprietatibus rerum,\u201d London, Wynkyn de\nWorde, 1495, lib. xvi, cap. 86, De Saphiro.\n\n[152] Old English for spider.\n\n[153] Bartolom\u00e6us Anglicus, l. c.\n\n[154] The subject of the origin, development and reform of the\ncarat-weight has been fully treated by the author in the Trans. of the\nSoc. of Min. Engineers, 1913, pp. 1225-1245, \u201cThe New International\nMetric Diamond Carat of 200 milligrams.\u201d\n\n[155] Marbodei, \u201cDe lapidibus,\u201d Friburgi, 1531, fol. 50, note of Pictor\nVillengensis.\n\n[156] Bellucci, \u201cIl feticismo primitivo in Italia,\u201d Perugia, 1907, pp.\n25, 26.\n\n[157] Volmar, \u201cSteinbuch,\u201d ed. by Hans Lambel, Heilbronn, 1877, p. 19.\n\n[158] De Boot, \u201cGemmarum et lapidum historia,\u201d Lug. Bat., 1636, pp.\n266-268.\n\n[159] De Boot, \u201cGemmarum et lapidum historia,\u201d Lug. Bat., 1636, pp.\n169, 170.\n\n[160] De Boot, l. c., p. 270.\n\n[161] Hendley, \u201cIndian Jewelry,\u201d London, 1909, p. 158.\n\n[162] Kunz, \u201cGems and Precious Stones of North America,\u201d New York,\n1890, pp. 61, 62, pl. opposite p. 56.\n\n[163] Kunz, l. c., see pl. 2, fig. A.\n\n[164] Pepper, \u201cThe Exploration of a Burial-room in Pueblo Bonito, New\nMexico,\u201d Putnam Anniversary Volume, New York, 1909, pp. 196-252.\n\n[165] Pepper, \u201cThe Exploration of a Burial-room in Pueblo Bonito, New\nMexico,\u201d pp. 223, 224.\n\n[166] Pepper, l. c., p. 227.\n\n[167] Burke, \u201cThe Medicine-men of the Apache,\u201d Ninth Annual Report of\nthe Bureau of Ethnology, 1887-1888, Washington, 1892, p. 589.\n\n[168] Fernie, \u201cPrecious Stones for Curative Use,\u201d Bristol, 1907, p. 269.\n\n[169] From \u201cThe Sacred Beetle,\u201d by John Ward, London, 1902, Plate VIII,\nNos. 46, 58, 89, 275, 276, 446.\n\n[170] Budge, \u201cThe Mummy,\u201d Cambridge, 1894, pp. 234-235.\n\n[171] The Metropolitan Museum of Art; the Murch Collection of Egyptian\nantiquities; supplement to the Bulletin of the Met. Mus. of Art,\nJanuary, 1910.\n\n[172] Middleton, \u201cEngraved Gems of Ancient Times,\u201d Cambridge, 1891, p.\n151.\n\n[173] Diodori Siculi, \u201cBibliothec\u00e6 historicales,\u201d ed. Dindorf,\nParisiis, 1842, vol. i, p. 65; lib. i, cap. 75.\n\n[174] \u00c6liani, \u201cDe animalibus,\u201d lib. x, cap. 15.\n\n[175] Hoernes, \u201cUrgeschichte der bildenden Kunst,\u201d Wien, 1898, pp. 155,\n156.\n\n[176] Konrad v. Megenberg, \u201cBuch der Natur,\u201d ed. Pfeiffer, Stuttgart,\n1861, p. 448; see also Johannis de Cuba, \u201cHortus Sanitatis\u201d\n[Strassburg, 1483], tractatus de lapidibus, cap. xliii.\n\n[177] Marbodei, \u201cDe lapidibus,\u201d Friburgi, 1531, fol. 19.\n\n[178] Fischer and Wiedemann, \u201cUeber Babylonische \u2018Talismane\u2019 aus dem\nhist. Mus. im steierisch-landschaftl. Joanneum zu Graz,\u201d Stuttgart,\n1881, p. 9.\n\n[179] See Ward, \u201cThe Seal Cylinders of Western Asia,\u201d Carnegie\nInstitution Pub., Washington, D. C., 1910, pp. 1-5.\n\n[180] Ward, l. c., p. 5 and pp. 5-8.\n\n[181] Fischer and Wiedemann, \u201cUeber Babylonische Talismane,\u201d Stuttgart,\n1881, p. 11. See Pl. I, fig. 3.\n\n[182] A. Evans, in \u201cJournal of Hellenic Studies,\u201d vol. xiv (1893), p.\n270.\n\n[183] Trebelii Pollionis, De XXX tyrannis, Lipsi\u00e6, p. 295.\n\n[184] Ad illum. catech., Hom. II, 5.\n\n[185] Krause, \u201cPyrgoteles,\u201d Halle, 1856, pp. 197-8.\n\n[186] Caii Plinii Secundi, Naturalis Historia, ed. Harduin, Parisiis,\n1741, vol. ii, p. 489.\n\n[187] King, Catalogue of Engraved Gems, Metropolitan Museum of Art, p.\n81, No. 302, 1885.\n\n[188] Dissert. apol. de quibusdam Alexandri Severi numismat., p. 59.\nCited in Dictionnaire de l\u2019arch. chr\u00e9t., vol. i, Pt. II, Paris, 1907,\ncols. 1789, 1790, where the amulet is figured.\n\n[189] Camilli Leonardi, Speculum Lapidum, Venetia, 1502.\n\n[190] Pitra, \u201cSpecilegium Solesmense,\u201d Parisiis, 1885, vol. iii, pp.\n326, 327.\n\n[191] Camilli Leonardi, \u201cSpeculum Lapidum,\u201d Venetia, 1502, ff. lvi-lvii.\n\n[192] From an anonymous Italian treatise in a fourteenth century MS. in\nthe author\u2019s collection; fol. 40 verso, 41 recto.\n\n[193] Hoernes, \u201cUrgeschichte der bildenden Kunst,\u201d Vienna, 1898, p. 338.\n\n[194] Hoernes, \u201cUrgeschichte der bildenden Kunst,\u201d Vienna, 1898, p. 338.\n\n[195] King, \u201cThe Gnostics and their Remains,\u201d London, 1864, p. 238,\nfigure opp. p. 115.\n\n[196] Catalogue de l\u2019Exposition de la Soci\u00e9t\u00e9 d\u2019Anthropologie\n(Exposition de 1900), p. 286.\n\n[197] Elworthy, \u201cThe Evil Eye,\u201d London, 1895, pp. 353, 354.\n\n[198] Stern, \u201cMedizin, Aberglaube und Geschlechtsleben in der Turkei,\u201d\nBerlin, 1903, vol. i, p. 235.\n\n[199] Plini, \u201cHistoria naturalis,\u201d lib. xxxvi, cap. 3.\n\n[200] Arch\u00e6ologia, vol. xxx, p. 541, London, 1844; MS. Harl. No. 80,\nfolio 105, recto.\n\n[201] Pitra, \u201cSpecilegium Solesmense,\u201d Parisiis, 1855, vol. iii, p. 336.\n\n[202] De M\u00e9ly, in La Grande Encyclop\u00e9die, vol. xxv, p. 885, art.\nPierres pr\u00e9cieuses.\n\n[203] Konrad von Megenberg, \u201cBuch der Natur,\u201d Stuttgart, 1861, p. 469.\n\n[204] Pitra, \u201cSpecilegium Solesmense,\u201d Parisiis, 1855, vol. iii, p. 335.\n\n[205] Agricola, \u201cDe natura fossilum,\u201d lib. vi, Basile\u00e6, 1546, p. 291.\n\n[206] Nicols, \u201cFaithful Lapidary,\u201d London, 1659, p. 107.\n\n[207] Kluge, \u201cEdelsteinkunde,\u201d Leipsic, 1860, p. 366.\n\n[208] Fernie, \u201cPrecious Stones for Curative Wear,\u201d Bristol, 1907, p.\n109.\n\n[209] The opal is said to preserve its wearer from disease; and hence,\nin the East, is much used in the form of amulets.\n\n[210] From \u201cGems of Beauty,\u201d by the Countess of Blessington, London,\n1836.\n\n[211] Sir Walter Scott, \u201cNovels,\u201d The Janson Society, New York, 1907,\nvol. xxiii, pp. 126-138.\n\n[212] Plinii, \u201cNaturalis historia,\u201d lib. xxxvii, cap. 6.\n\n[213] Plinii, l. c.\n\n[214] Hesselquist, \u201cVoyages and Travels in the Levant,\u201d English trans.,\nLondon, 1766, pp. 273, 274.\n\n[215] Alberti Magni, Opera Omnia, ed. Borgnet, Parisiis, 1890, vol. v,\np. 42.\n\n[216] Communication of Dr. Frederick Knab, citing Castellani and\nChalmers, \u201cManual of Tropical Medicine,\u201d 1910.\n\n[217] Batman, \u201cUppon Bartholome,\u201d London, 1582, p. 264, lib. xvi, cap.\n73.\n\n[218] Shakespeare, \u201cTwelfth Night,\u201d Act ii, Sc. 4.\n\n[219] Cardani, \u201cDe subtilitate,\u201d Basile\u00e6, 1560, p. 445.\n\n[220] Rose, \u201cAristoteles De lapidibus und Arnoldus Saxo,\u201d in Zeitschr.\nf\u00fcr D. Alt., New Series, vol. vi, p. 391. See also Avicenna, \u201cLiber\ncanonis,\u201d Basile\u00e6, 1556, p. 182, lib. ii, Tract. ii, cap. 20.\n\n[221] Garcias ab Orta, \u201cAromatum historia\u201d (Lat. version by Clusius).\nAntverpi\u00e6, 1579, p. 172. The Portuguese original was published in Goa,\nin 1563.\n\n[222] Surindro Mohun Tagore, \u201cMani M\u00e1l\u00e1,\u201d Pt. I, Calcutta, 1879, pp.\n122, 125.\n\n[223] Justi Lepsii, \u201cDe fraude et vi,\u201d cap. v, \u00a78; cited in Pindar, \u201cDe\nadamante,\u201d Berolini, 1829, p. 58.\n\n[224] Aldrovandi, \u201cMuseum metallicum,\u201d Bononi\u00e6, 1648, p. 949.\n\n[225] Vita di Benvenuto Cellini, ed. Carpani, Milano, 1806, p. 445.\n\n[226] Amos, \u201cThe Great Oyer of Poisoning,\u201d London, 1846, pp. 336 sqq.\n\n[227] Aldrovandi, \u201cMuseum metallicum,\u201d Bononi\u00e6, 1648, p. 949.\n\n[228] Child, \u201cThe English and Scottish Popular Ballads,\u201d Boston,\n1882-96, vol. i, pp. 187 sqq.\n\n[229] Child, l. c.\n\n[230] Against thee.\n\n[231] Ravii, \u201cSpecimen Arabicum,\u201d Trajecti ad Rhenum, 1784, pp. 97, 98.\n\n[232] Andre\u00e6 Baccii, \u201cDe gemmis et lapidibus pretiosis,\u201d Latin trans.\nby Wolfgang Gabelchover, Francofurti, 1603, pp. 63, 64.\n\n[233] \u201cDe gemmis errores vulgares,\u201d Lipsi\u00e6, 1688, sect. ii, \u00a712.\n\n[234] Rose, Aristoteles De lapidibus and Arnoldus Saxo, Zeitschr. f\u00fcr\nD. Alt., New Series, vol. vi, 1875, pp. 360, 361.\n\n[235] Cardani, \u201cDe subtilitate,\u201d Basile\u00e6, 1554, lib. vii, pp. 191, 205.\n\n[236] Ginsburg, \u201cLegends of the Jews,\u201d Eng. trans., Phila., 1909, vol.\ni, p. 162. See also Levy, \u201cDictionary of the Targumim,\u201d etc., New York\nand London, 1903, vol. ii, p. 836, s. v. \u05de\u05b7\u05e8\u05b0\u05d2\u05b8\u05dc\u05b4\u05d9\u05ea. Pirke d\u2019R. El.,\nch. xxiii.\n\n[237] Ginsburg, l. c., p. 298.\n\n[238] Claudii \u00c6liani, \u201cDe animalium natura,\u201d lib. viii, cap. 22, ed.\nGesner, Tiguri, 1568, pp. 182, 183.\n\n[239] Grimm, \u201cW\u00f6rterbuch,\u201d vol. ii, col. 1244.\n\n[240] \u201cLithica,\u201d line 270.\n\n[241] De Mely, \u201cLa trait\u00e9 des fleuves de Plutarche,\u201d in Revue des\n\u00c9tudes Grecques, vol. v (1892), p. 331.\n\n[242] Luciani, \u201cDe Syria dea,\u201d cap. 32.\n\n[243] Rose, \u201cAristoteles de lapidibus und Arnoldus Saxo,\u201d Zeitschr. f\u00fcr\nD. Alt., New Series, vol. vi, 1875, pp. 375, 376.\n\n[244] The abbey to which Hildegard gave the tablet was probably that\nbuilt by Theodoric II and destroyed by the Reformers in 1572. The first\nbuilding was of wood and was erected by Theodoric I in 923 or 924; this\nwas ravaged by the Frisians not many years later.\n\n[245] Creuzer, \u201cAntik geschnittene Steine vom Grabmahl der heiligen\nElizabeth,\u201d Leipsic and Darmstadt, 1834, pp. 25, 26.\n\n[246] Arnobio, \u201cIl tesoro delle gioie,\u201d Venice, 1602, p. 34.\n\n[247] See the English translation of his \u201cChu-fan-ch\u00ef,\u201d by Friedrich\nHirth and W. W. Rockhill, St. Petersburg, 1911, p. 72.\n\n[248] \u201cDie Reisebeschreibung des R. Benjamin von Tudela,\u201d ed. by L.\nGr\u00fcnhut and Marcus N. Adler, Jerusalem, 1903, pt. ii, trans., p. 17.\n\n[249] Beckmann, \u201cHistory of Inventions,\u201d English trans., London, 1846,\nvol. ii, p. 433.\n\n[250] Garcias ab Orta, \u201cAromatum historia\u201d (Lat. version by Clusius),\nAntverpi\u00e6, 1579, lib. i, p. 174.\n\n[251] Plinii, \u201cNaturalis historia,\u201d lib. xxxvii, cap. 17.\n\n[252] Platonis, \u201cHippias major,\u201d ed. Didot, vol. i, p. 745.\n\n[253] Norton\u2019s \u201cOrdinall\u201d; in Ashmole \u201cTheatrum Chemicum Britannicum,\u201d\nLondon, 1652, p. 27.\n\n[254] Christiani Mentzelli, \u201cLapis Bononensis,\u201d Bilefeldi\u00e6, 1675.\n\n[255] See Kunz, \u201cThe Phosphorescence of the Diamond,\u201d Trans. N. Y.\nAcademy of Sciences, vol. x, p. 50, 1890-91; Kunz and Baskerville, \u201cThe\nAction of Radium, Actinium, Roentgen rays, and Ultra Violet Light in\nMinerals and Gems,\u201d Science, vol. xviii, No. 468, pp. 769-783, December\n18, 1903.\n\n[256] See page 172.\n\n[257] Boyle, \u201cWorks,\u201d London, 1744, vol. ii, p. 85. The experiments\nwere made October 27, 1663, and the results were communicated to the\nRoyal Society the next day, the diamond which had been used being shown\nto the members at that time.\n\n[258] \u201cJournal des S\u00e7avans,\u201d 1739, pp. 438, 439, of Amsterdam edition,\nciting \u201cHist. de l\u2019Acad. Roy. des Sciences,\u201d 1735 (vol. xxxviii).\n\n[259] See Transactions of the New York Academy of Sciences, vol. xiv,\np. 260; 1895.\n\n[260] \u201cDiamonds,\u201d a lecture delivered before the British Association\nat Kimberley, Sept. 5, 1905; London, 1905, p. 37. See also the same\nauthor\u2019s \u201cDiamonds,\u201d London and New York, 1909, pp. 96-101.\n\n[261] Kunz, \u201cGems and Precious Stones of North America,\u201d New York,\n1890, pp. 183, 184.\n\n[262] \u201cCollection des anciens alchemistes grecs,\u201d ed. by M. Berthelot,\ntrans., p. 336-338; text pp. 351, 352, Paris, 1887, 1888.\n\n[263] \u201cSur un proc\u00e9d\u00e9 antique pour rendre les pierres pr\u00e9cieuses et les\nvitrifications phosphorescentes,\u201d Annales de Chimie et Physique, 6th\nser., vol. xiv, pp. 429-432.\n\n[264] Moryson, \u201cAn Itinerary containing his Ten Yeeres Travell through\nthe Twelve Dominions,\u201d etc., Glasgow, 1907-8, vol. i. p. 216.\n\n[265] Burton, \u201cSupplementary Nights,\u201d London, 1886, vol. iii, p. 354,\nnote.\n\n[266] Pausani\u00e6, \u201cDescriptio Gr\u00e6ci\u00e6,\u201d ed. Schubart, vol. ii, Lipsi\u00e6,\n1883, pp. 54, 55, lib. ii, cap. 21, 12.\n\n[267] Luciani, \u201cVera Historia,\u201d lib. i, 26.\n\n[268] Balz, \u201cDie sogenannte magische Spiegel und ihr Gebrauch\u201d; Archiv\nf\u00fcr Anthrop. N.S., vol. ii, p. 45, 1904.\n\n[269] Sahagun, \u201cHistoria general de las cosas de Nueva Espa\u00f1a,\u201d Mexico,\n1829, vol. i, pp. 2, 3; vol. ii, pp. 6, 12, 16, 17; lib. i, cap. 3;\nlib. v, cap. 3, 9, 11, 12.\n\n[270] Spartiani, \u201cVita Didii Juliani,\u201d cap. 7.\n\n[271] Reichelti, \u201cDe amuletis,\u201d Argentorati, 1676, p. 36.\n\n[272] \u201cSynodum episcoporum Patricii, Auxilii et Issernani,\u201d in Migne,\nPatr. Lat., vol. liii, Parisiis, 1865, col. 825.\n\n[273] Hincmari, \u201cOpera Omnia,\u201d in Migne, Patr. Lat., vol. cxxv, col. 7;\nDe devortio Lotharii et Tetberg\u00e6.\n\n[274] London, 1905, pp. xxiv, xxx.\n\n[275] Ibn Kaldoun, in Notices et Ext. de MSS. de la Bib. Imp., vol.\nxix, p. 221.\n\n[276] See Barrett, \u201cThe Magus,\u201d London, 1801, p. 135.\n\n[277] J\u00e2mi\u2019s \u201cSalam\u00e2n and Absal,\u201d trans. by Edward Fitzgerald, Boston,\n1899, p. 84.\n\n[278] Description of the Regalia of Scotland, by Sir Walter Scott,\nBart., Edinburgh, n. d., p. 13.\n\n[279] Johannis Saresberensis, \u201cPolicraticus,\u201d Lyon, 1513, fols. lxxvii,\nverso, lxxviii, recto, lib. ii, cap. 28.\n\n[280] Johannis Saresberensis, l. c., fol. lxxvi, recto, lib. ii, cap.\n28.\n\n[281] \u201cThe Hermetic and Alchemical writings of Aureolus Philippus\nTheophrastus Bombast of Hohenheim, called Paracelsus the Great,\u201d trans.\nby Arthur Edward Waite, London, 1894, vol. i, p. 224.\n\n[282] \u201cUnterricht vom Gebrauch des Erdspiegels, 1658\u201d (Aus dem\nKapuziner-Kloster in Immenstat. Eine Handschrift des Kapuziner-Paters\nFranziscus Seraph. Heider daselbst); in \u201cHandschriftlichen Sch\u00e4tze aus\nKloster Bibliotheken,\u201d K\u00f6ln am Rhein, 1734-1810 (reprint).\n\n[283] Sloane MS. 3851, f. 50b.\n\n[284] Jonson, \u201cThe Alchemist,\u201d ed. Hathaway, New York, 1903, pp. 101,\n145, note.\n\n[285] Kiesewetter, \u201cFaust in der Geschichte und Tradition,\u201d Leipzig,\n1893, p. 472.\n\n[286] Kiesewetter, \u201cFaust in der Geschichte und Tradition,\u201d p. 473.\n\n[287] Wieri, \u201cDe prestigiis demonum,\u201d Basile\u00e6, 1563, p. 121.\n\n[288] \u201cThe Private Diary of Dr. John Dee,\u201d ed. by Halliwell, London,\n1842 (Camden Soc. Pub.), p. 9, note (\u201cCompendious Memorial,\u201d p. 516).\n\n[289] A true and faithful Relation of what passed for Many Yeeres\nbetween Dr. John Dee and Some Spirits. With preface by Meric. Casaubon,\nLondon, 1659, p. 1.\n\n[290] See B. M. Dalton\u2019s notes in the Proceedings of the Society of\nAntiquaries, 2d ser., vol. xxi, 380-383. Sloane MS. A. 3188.\n\n[291] Casaubon\u2019s \u201cRelation,\u201d p. 73.\n\n[292] Rist, \u201cDie Aller-Edelste Zeit-Verk\u00fcrtung der ganzen Welt,\u201d\nFranckfurt on dem Mayn, 1668, p. 255.\n\n[293] Butler, \u201cHudibras,\u201d Part II, Canto III, 11, 235-8, and 631-4.\nThis second part was issued in 1663, four years after Casaubon\u2019s\npublication of Dee\u2019s journal.\n\n[294] Miscellanea graphica: Representations of Ancient Medieval and\nRenaissance remains in the Possession of Lord Londesborough; introd. by\nThomas Wright, London, 1857, p. 81.\n\n[295] Aubrey, \u201cMiscellanies,\u201d London, 1890, pp. 156, 157. (There is a\nfigure on p. 156.)\n\n[296] Glanvil, \u201cSaducismus Triumphatus,\u201d London, 1726, p. 281.\n\n[297] Aubrey, \u201cMiscellanies,\u201d London, 1890, p. 155.\n\n[298] Carlyle, \u201cWorks,\u201d Ashburton ed., vol. xvi, p. 509; from Vie\nde Joseph Balsamo, traduite d\u2019apr\u00e8s l\u2019original Italien, ch. ii, 111\n(Paris, 1791).\n\n[299] Kiesewetter, \u201cFaust in der Geschichte und Tradition,\u201d Leipzig,\n1893, p. 476.\n\n[300] George IV, cap. lxxxiii.\n\n[301] Brinton, \u201cEssays of an Americanist,\u201d Philadelphia, 1890, p. 165.\n\n[302] Burke, \u201cThe Medicine-men of the Apache,\u201d Ninth Annual Report of\nthe Bureau of Ethnology, 1887-1888, Washington, 1892, p. 461.\n\n[303] Fraser, \u201cThe Golden Bough,\u201d pt. i, \u201cThe Magic Art,\u201d vol. i,\nLondon, 1911, p. 176.\n\n[304] Lang, \u201cThe Making of Religion,\u201d London, 1898, pp. 91-92.\n\n[305] Thomas, \u201cCrystal Gazing,\u201d London, 1905, p. 48.\n\n[306] Nuttall, \u201cThe Fundamental Principles of Old and New World\nCivilization,\u201d Cambridge, Mass., 1901, p. 80.\n\n[307] Tcheraz, \u201cNotes sur la mythologie Armenienne,\u201d in Trans. of the\nNinth Cong. of Orient. (1892), London, 1893, vol. ii, p. 832.\n\n[308] Tcheraz, l. c., p. 835.\n\n[309] Proc. Soc. of Psych. Research, vol. viii, p. 470.\n\n[310] Proc. of the Soc. for Psych. Research, vol. v, p. 507.\n\n[311] Thomas, \u201cCrystal Gazing,\u201d London, 1908, Lang\u2019s preface, pp. xi,\nxii.\n\n[312] Thomas, l. c., p. xxi.\n\n[313] Proc. of the Soc. for Psych. Research, vol. viii, p. 473.\n\n[314] Shepharial, \u201cThe Crystal and the Seer,\u201d London [1900?], p. 14.\n\n[315] John Melville, \u201cCrystal Gazing,\u201d London, 1910, pp. 20, 21.\n\n[316] Shepharial, \u201cThe Crystal and the Seer,\u201d London [1900?], pp. 11-13.\n\n[317] Melville, \u201cCrystal Gazing,\u201d London, 1910, p. 47.\n\n[318] Atkinson, \u201cPractical Psychomancy and Crystal Gazing,\u201d Chicago\n[1908], p. 46.\n\n[319] See Leadbeater, \u201cThe Astral Plane,\u201d London, 1910, p. 14.\n\n[320] Verner, \u201cHow to Know Your Future,\u201d London [1910?], p. 16.\n\n[321] See Hereward Carrington\u2019s Correspondence Course of Instruction in\nPsychic Development, Lesson 24, New York, 1912.\n\n[322] Kunz, \u201cThe Occurrence and Manipulation of Rock Crystal,\u201d\nScientific American, vol. lv, pp. 103, 104 (Aug. 14, 1886). Trans. N.\nY. Acad. Sciences, May 30, 1886.\n\n[323] Kunz, \u201cThe Occurrence and Manipulation of Rock Crystal.\u201d\n\n[324] Gratacap, \u201cThe Mystic Crystal Sphere,\u201d in the American Museum\nJournal, January, 1913, p. 24; plate on p. 22.\n\n[325] Montfaucon, Les monumens de la monarchie Fran\u00e7aise. Paris, 1729,\np. 15.\n\n[326] Montfaucon, l. c.\n\n[327] Cochet, \u201cLe tombeau de Childeric Ier roi des Francs,\u201d Paris,\n1859, pp. 16 sqq.\n\n[328] Cochet, op. cit., p. 305.\n\n[329] Cochet, op. cit., p. 302; figure.\n\n[330] Cochet, op. cit., p. 303, No. 1.\n\n[331] Simon, \u201cObservations sur les s\u00e9pulchres antiques d\u00e9couverts dans\nplusieures contr\u00e9es des Gaules,\u201d p. 5; pl. ii, fig. 14.\n\n[332] See Wylie\u2019s \u201cFairford Graves,\u201d pl. iv, fig. 1, pl. v, fig 2;\nAkerman\u2019s \u201cRemains of Pagan Saxondom,\u201d Roach Smith\u2019s \u201cCollectanea\nantiqua\u201d; Douglas\u2019 \u201cNenia Brittanica,\u201d and Hillier\u2019s \u201cAntiquities of\nthe Isle of Wight.\u201d\n\n[333] Akerman, op. cit., p. 10.\n\n[334] Journal of the Arch\u00e6ological Institute, vol. ix, p. 179.\n\n[335] Akerman, op. cit., pp. 39, 40.\n\n[336] Miscellanies upon various subjects, by John Aubrey, to which is\nadded \u201cHydrotaphia, or Urn Burial,\u201d by Sir Thomas Browne, London, 1890,\np. 244; chap, ii.\n\n[337] Lady Wilde, \u201cAncient Legends, Mystic Charms, and Superstitions of\nIreland,\u201d Boston, 1888, p. 209.\n\n[338] Life Work of Sir Peter le Page Renouf, Paris, 1907, vol. iv,\np. 342. In the vignette to chapter 93, to illustrate the protection\nafforded, a buckle with human hands seizes the arm of the deceased and\nprevents him from going toward the East, the inauspicious direction for\ndeparted souls, pl. xxv (Papyrus, Louvre iii, 93).\n\n[339] Budge, \u201cThe Mummy,\u201d Cambridge, 1894, p. 259.\n\n[340] Budge, \u201cThe Mummy,\u201d Cambridge, 1894, p. 261.\n\n[341] The deceased was identified with Osiris.\n\n[342] Budge, \u201cThe Mummy,\u201d Cambridge, 1894, p. 263.\n\n[343] Birch, Catalogue of Egyptian Antiquities in Alnwick Castle,\nLondon, 1880, p. 224.\n\n[344] Pierret, \u201cLe livre des Morts,\u201d Paris, 1882, p. 138.\n\n[345] \u201cLife Work of Sir Peter le Page Renouf,\u201d Paris, 1907, vol. iv, p.\n76, note.\n\n[346] Ibid., Paris, 1907, vol. iv, p. 295.\n\n[347] \u00c6liani, \u201cVaria historia,\u201d lib. xiv, cap. xxxiv, Lug. Bat., 1731,\nPars altera, p. 977.\n\n[348] Fossey, \u201cLa Magie Assyrienne,\u201d Paris, 1902, p. 301; see\nRawlinson, \u201cCun. insc. of West. Asia,\u201d vol. iv, 18, No. 3.\n\n[349] Delitzsch, \u201cAssyrisches W\u00f6rterbuch,\u201d Leipzig, 1896, p. 74, s. v.\n_elm\u00eashu_.\n\n[350] Jensen, \u201cAssyrisch-Babylonische Mythen und Epen,\u201d Berlin, 1900.\n\n[351] Ward, \u201cSeal Cylinders of Western Asia,\u201d Carnegie Institution\nPub., Washington, D. C., 1910, pp. 232, 234.\n\n[352] For a fuller description of this valuable relic, and a discussion\nof the meaning of the inscription, see \u201cOn the ancient inscribed\nSumerian (Babylonian) axe-head for the Morgan Collection in the\nAmerican Museum of Natural History,\u201d by George Frederick Kunz, with\ntranslation by Prof. Ira Maurice Price and discussion by Dr. William\nHayes Ward. Bulletin of the Museum, vol. xxi, pp. 37-47, April 6, 1905.\n\n[353] Montfaucon, \u201cL\u2019antiquit\u00e9 expliqu\u00e9e,\u201d vol. ii, Pt. II, 1719, pp.\n324, 325; Plate 136.\n\n[354] \u201cThe Questions of King Milinda,\u201d tr. from the P\u00e2li by T. W. Rhys\nDavids, vol. ii, Oxford, 1894, p. 128.\n\n[355] Buddha.\n\n[356] Surindro Mohun Tagore, \u201cMani M\u00e1l\u00e1,\u201d Pt. II, Calcutta, 1881, pp.\n715, 717.\n\n[357] Buddhist Suttas, trans. from Pali by T. W. Rhys Davids; \u201cSacred\nBooks of the East,\u201d vol. xi, Oxford, 1881.\n\n[358] Lib. ii, cap. 11. Luciani Opera, ex recog. C. Jacobitz, vol. i,\nLeipzig, 1884, p. 56.\n\n[359] Surindro Mohun Tagore, \u201cMani M\u00e1l\u00e1,\u201d Pt. II, Calcutta, 1881, p. 79.\n\n[360] Surindro Mohun Tagore, \u201cMani M\u00e1l\u00e1,\u201d Pt. II, Calcutta, 1881, pp.\n645, 647.\n\n[361] Heuen Tsang, \u201cM\u00e9moires sur les contr\u00e9es occidentales,\u201d French\ntrans. by Stanislas Julien, Paris, 1857, vol. i, p. 461.\n\n[362] Gaina Sutras, trans. from Prakrit by Hermann Jacobi; \u201cSacred\nBooks of the East,\u201d vol. xxii, Oxford, 1884, pp. 227, 233.\n\n[363] Hendley, \u201cIndian Jewellery,\u201d London, 1909, p. 33.\n\n[364] Hendley, \u201cIndian Jewellery,\u201d London, 1909, pp. 33, 34.\n\n[365] Finot, \u201cLes lapidaries indiens,\u201d Paris, 1896, p. 175.\n\n[366] Morales, \u201cDe las piedras preciosas,\u201d Valladolid, 1604 (fol. 16\nverso).\n\n[367] Philostrati, \u201cDe Vita Apollonii,\u201d lib. iii, cap. 36.\n\n[368] Personal communication from Taw Sein Ko.\n\n[369] The Bishop Collection: \u201cInvestigations and Studies in Jade,\u201d New\nYork, 1906, vol. i, p. 54, The \u201cYushuo\u201d of T\u2019ang Jing-tso, trans. by\nStephen W. Bushnell.\n\n[370] The Bishop Collection: \u201cInvestigations and Studies in Jade,\u201d New\nYork, 1906, vol. i, p. 36.\n\n[371] Kobert, \u201cEin Edelstein der Vorzeit,\u201d Stuttgart, 1910, p. 26.\n\n[372] Alfred Marston Tozzer, \u201cNavajo Religious Ceremonials,\u201d Putnam\nAnniversary Volume, New York, 1909, pp. 323-326, 329, Plate II.\n\n[373] Sahagun, \u201cHistoria general de las cosas de Nueva Espa\u00f1a,\u201d Mexico,\n1830, vol. iii, p. 297.\n\n[374] Sahagun, l. c., 1829, vol. i, p. 18; lib. i, cap. xiii.\n\n[375] Garcilasso de la Vega, \u201cHistoire des Incas.\u201d Fr. trans. by Jean\nBaudoin, Amsterdam, 1715, vol. ii, pp. 255-257.\n\n[376] Ibid., p. 347.\n\n[377] \u201cA Remarkable Jadeite Adze,\u201d American Association for the\nAdvancement of Science. Kunz, \u201cGems and Precious Stones of North\nAmerica,\u201d New York, 1890, pp. 278-280.\n\n[378] \u201cNephrit und Jadite,\u201d Stuttgart, 1880.\n\n[379] The Bishop Collection, \u201cInvestigations and Studies in Jade,\u201d New\nYork, 1906, vol. i, pt. iii, \u201cJade as a Mineral,\u201d by George Frederick\nKunz, p. 177. This immense mass of nephrite which forms part of the\nHeber Bishop Collection loan of jade is now in the American Museum of\nNatural History, New York.\n\n[380] Kunz, \u201cChalchiuitl: a note on the jadeite discussion,\u201d Science,\nvol. xii, No. 298.\n\n[381] Gesneri, \u201cDe figuris lapidum,\u201d Tiguri, 1565, fol. 107 verso, 108\nrecto.\n\n[382] \u201cDe ornatu oris, nasi et aurium,\u201d Gotting\u00e6, 1832, p. 43.\n\n[383] \u201cHandbook of American Indians North of Mexico,\u201d ed. by Frederick\nWebb Hodge; Smithsonian Inst., Bur. of Am. Ethn. Bull. 30. Pt. I, p.\n458; Washington, 1910.\n\n[384] \u201cHistoria de las Indias,\u201d in \u201cBib. de autores espa\u00f1oles,\u201d vol.\nxxii, Madrid, 1852, p. 202.\n\n[385] Sahagun, \u201cHistoria general de las cosas de Nueva Espa\u00f1a,\u201d Mexico,\n1829, vol. ii, pp. 389-391, lib. ix, cap. xvii.\n\n[386] Klot, \u201cUeber den N\u00fctzen und Gebrauch der alten geschnittenen\nSteine,\u201d Altenburg, 1768, p. 57.\n\n[387] Erasmi Stell\u00e6, \u201cInterpretamentum Gemmarum,\u201d 3d ed., Erfurti et\nLipsi\u00e6, 1736, p. 27.\n\n[388] Agricol\u00e6, \u201cDe natura fossilium,\u201d lib. vi, Basile\u00e6, 1546, p. 289.\n\n[389] Gesner, \u201cDe figuris lapidum,\u201d Tiguri, 1565, ff. 112v, 113r.\n\n[390] \u201cLes six voyages de Jean Baptiste Tavernier,\u201d La Haye, 1718, vol.\ni, p. 48; Voyages en Perse, liv. i, chap. iv.\n\n[391] Jos\u00e9 Ignacio Mir\u00f3, \u201cEstudio de las piedras preciosas,\u201d Madrid,\n1870, pp. 135, 136.\n\n[392] Lassels, \u201cThe Voyage of Italy,\u201d Paris, 1670, Pt. II, p. 344.\n\n[393] Lassels, l. c., p. 339.\n\n[394] Scotto, \u201cItinerario d\u2019Italia,\u201d Roma, 1747, p. 314.\n\n[395] Jos\u00e9 Ignacio Mir\u00f3, \u201cEstudio de las piedras preciosas,\u201d Madrid,\n1870, pp. 136, 137, 229.\n\n[396] Cartularium abbathi\u00e6 de Whiteby, Surtees Soc. Pub., vol. lxix,\npp. xvi-xx.\n\n[397] Cardani, \u201cDe subtilitate,\u201d lib. v, Basile\u00e6, 1560, p. 370.\n\n[398] Dr. Baelz, of the Imperial University of Tokyo, in Report of the\nSmithsonian Institution for 1904, pp. 523-547.\n\n[399] Mason, \u201cBurmah, its People and Natural Productions,\u201d Rangoon,\n1860, pp. 109, 110.\n\n[400] Narrative of the Embassy of Ruy Gonzalez de Clavijo to the Court\nof Timour, trans. by Clement R. Markham, London, 1859, p. 38, Hakluyt\nSoc. Pub.\n\n[401] Chiocci, \u201cMuseum Calceolarium,\u201d Veron\u00e6, 1622, p. 251.\n\n[402] Kircher, \u201cMundus Subterraneus,\u201d Amstelodami, 1665, p. 36; Tabula\nIV, Fig. 6.\n\n[403] Creuzer, \u201cAntik geschnittene Steine vom Grabmahl der heiligen\nElizabeth,\u201d Leipsic and Darmstadt, 1834, p. 25.\n\n[404] Barbier de Montault, \u201cLe Tr\u00e9sor de l\u2019Abbaye de Sainte-Croix de\nPoitier\u201d; in M\u00e9m. de la Soc. d\u2019Antiq. de l\u2019Ouest, Sec. Ser., vol. lv,\n1881, pp. 105, 106; Poitiers, 1882.\n\n[405] Italian MS. of the fourteenth century in the author\u2019s library;\nfol. 41 b.\n\n[406] Ravenshaw, \u201cAntiente Epitaphs,\u201d London, 1878, p. 110.\n\n[407] Ravenshaw, \u201cAntiente Epitaphs,\u201d London, 1878, p. 113.\n\n[408] See Audsley, \u201cHandbook of Christian Symbolism,\u201d London, 1865, pp.\n135-137.\n\n[409] Flavii Josephi, \u201cDe Antiq. Jud.,\u201d lib. iii, cap. viii, 9; Opera,\ned. Dindorf, Parisiis, 1845, vol. i, pp. 100, 101.\n\n[410] \u201cAnt. Jud.,\u201d lib. iii, cap. vii, 5, Flavii Josephi Opera,\nBasile\u00e6, 1544, p. 75.\n\n[411] Sancti Patri Epiphanii, \u201cDe XII Gemmis,\u201d Tiguri, 1566, ff. 12-14.\nEdited by Conrad Gesner from a unique MS. in his possession.\n\n[412] Ginsburg, \u201cLegends of the Jews,\u201d Eng. trans., Phila., 1909, vol.\ni, p. 34.\n\n[413] See J. L. Myers in the \u201cEncyclop\u00e6dia Biblica,\u201d vol. iv, pp.\n4799-4812.\n\n[414] See Gimma, \u201cDella storia naturale delle gemme,\u201d Napoli, 1730,\nvol. i, pp. 208, 209.\n\n[415] Hommel, \u201cAltisraelitische Ueberlieferung,\u201d pp. 281, sqq.; Erman,\n\u201cAegypten,\u201d T\u00fcbingen, 1885, p. 402.\n\n[416] Aureli Augustini, \u201cOpera Omnia,\u201d vol. iii, Part I, col. 637;\nPatrologi\u00e6 Latin\u00e6, ed. Migne, vol. xxxviii, Paris, 1864.\n\n[417] \u201cNatural History of Precious Stones,\u201d London, 1870, p. 333.\n\n[418] Procopius, ed. Dindorf, Bonnae. 1833, vol. i, p. 445; \u201cDe bello\nVandalico,\u201d lib. ii, cap. 9.\n\n[419] Procopius, ed. Dindorf, Bonnae, 1833, vol. i, p. 445; \u201cDe bello\nVandalico,\u201d lib. ii, cap. 9.\n\n[420] For an account of the immense booty taken by the Arabs, under\nSa\u2019ad, on this occasion, see Rawlinson, \u201cSeventh Great Oriental\nMonarchy,\u201d London, 1876, pp. 564-566. The total value has been placed\nas high as $125,000,000.\n\n[421] C. H. Emerson, \u201cPsychocraft\u201d [Portland, Me., 1911].\n\n[422] \u201cDer Midrasch Bemidbar Rabba,\u201d German transl. by Dr. Aug.\nW\u00fcnsche, Leipzig, 1885, pp. 15, 16. Parasha II. Of the _tarshish_ it\nis said the color resembled that of \u201cthe costly stone with which women\nadorn themselves,\u201d possibly the pearl is signified. Hebrew text in\n\u201cSepher Midrash Rabba,\u201d Vilna, 1845, pt. iii, \u201cSepher Bemidbar,\u201d p. 23.\n\n[423] There are two evident transpositions in the text of Josephus\nbetween the fifth and sixth and the eighth and ninth stones\nrespectively.\n\n[424] Alford, \u201cThe Greek Testament,\u201d vol. iv, Pt. 2, p. 594.\n\n[425] Rabani Mauri, \u201cOpera Omnia,\u201d vol. v, col. 470. Patrologi\u00e6 Lat.,\nvol. cxi, Parisiis, 1864.\n\n[426] \u201cNew Edition of the Babylonian Talmud,\u201d ed. and trans. by Michael\nL. Rodkinson, vol. v (xiii), New York, 1902, p. 210. Baba Batra.\n\n[427] Br\u00fcckmann, \u201cAbhandlung von Edelsteinen,\u201d 2d ed., Braunschweig,\n1773, p. 358.\n\n[428] Flavii Josephi, ed. Dindorf, Parisii, 1847, vol. ii, p. 97;\n\u201cAntiq. Jud.,\u201d lib. iii, cap. 7, paragraph 7. In the second century,\nClemens Alexandrinus (lib. v, cap. 6) repeats this idea of Josephus,\nadding that the four rows in which the gems were disposed signified the\nfour seasons of the year.\n\n[429] Sancti Hieronymi, \u201cOpera Omnia,\u201d ed. Migne, Parisiis, 1877, vol.\ni, col. 616; Epistola lxiv, paragraph 16.\n\n[430] L\u00fccke, \u201cVersuch einer Einleitung in die Offenbarung Johannes,\u201d\nBonn, 1852, p. 964.\n\n[431] Patrologi\u00e6 Gr\u00e6c\u00e6, ed. Migne, vol. cvi, Parisiis, 1863, cols.\n433-438.\n\n[432] Georgius Vitringa, \u201cNauwkeurige onderzoek van de goddelyke\nOpenbaring der H. Apostels Johannes,\u201d Dutch trans. of Latin by M.\nGargon, Amsterdam, 1728, vol. ii, p. 681.\n\n[433] Sancti Patris Epiphanii episcopi Cypri ad Diodorum Tyri\nepiscopum, \u201cDe XII. Gemmis, qu\u00e6 erant in veste Aaronis,\u201d ed. Gesner,\nTiguri, 1565.\n\n[434] Rabani Mauri, \u201cOpera Omnia,\u201d vol. v, col. 465; in Patrologi\u00e6\nLatin\u00e6, ed. Migne, vol. xvi, Paris, 1864.\n\n[435] Poujet fils, \u201cTrait\u00e9 des pierres pr\u00e9cieuses,\u201d Paris, 1762, p. 4.\n\n[436] Poujet fils, l. c.\n\n[437] Surindro Mohun Tagore, \u201cMani M\u00e1l\u00e1,\u201d Pt. II, Calcutta, 1881, pp\n619, 621.\n\n[438] The star-sapphire has already been described on pp. 106, 107.\n\n[439] Eliphas L\u00e9vi, \u201cRituel de la haute magie,\u201d Paris, 1861.\n\n[440] For this number, and for the succeeding multiples of thirteen,\nthe gem is believed to counteract the malign influence of the number.\n\n[441] Wilhelmus Eo, \u201cCoron\u00e6 Gemma Nobilissima,\u201d Newheusern, 1621, pp.\n38-9.\n\n[442] Gaffarelli, \u201cCuriositates inaudit\u00e6,\u201d Hamburgi, 1706, pp. 146, 147.\n\n[443] Schindler, \u201cDer Aberglaube des Mittelalters,\u201d Breslau, 1858, p.\n131.\n\n[444] Reichelti, \u201cDe amuletis,\u201d Argentorati, 1676, p. 45; citing\nFicini, \u201cDe vita coelit.,\u201d cap. 13.\n\n[445] Mairan, \u201cLettres au R. P. Parrenin,\u201d Paris, 1770, pp. 275 sqq.\n\n[446] Mairan, l. c., pp. 199, 211.\n\n[447] \u201cCollection of Engraved Gems,\u201d Metropolitan Museum of Art,\nHandbook No. 9, pp. 53, 54.\n\n[448] Garbe, \u201cDie indische Mineralien,\u201d Naharari\u2019s R\u00e2janighantu, Varga\nXIII, Leipzig, 1882, p. 80.\n\n[449] Garbe, \u201cDie indische Mineralien,\u201d Naharari\u2019s R\u00e2janighantu, Varga\nXIII, Leipzig, 1882, p. 83.\n\n[450] Garbe, \u201cDie indische Mineralien,\u201d Naharari\u2019s R\u00e2janighantu, Varga\nXIII, Leipzig, 1882, p. 84.\n\n[451] Surindro Mohun Tagore, \u201cMani M\u00e1l\u00e1,\u201d Pt. II, Calcutta, 1881, p.\n883.\n\n[452] Morales, \u201cDe las virtudes y propiedades marvillosas de las\npiedras preciosas,\u201d Valladolid, 1604, fols. 15a, 15b.\n\n[453] Rantzau, \u201cTractatus de genethliacorum thematum judiciis,\u201d\nFrancofurti, 1633, pp. 46-55.\n\n[454] Lapidario del Rey D. Alfonso X; codice original, Madrid, 1881,\nfols. 101-109.\n\n[455] Lane, \u201cArabian Society in the Middle Ages,\u201d ed. by Stanley\nLane-Poole, London, 1883, p. 98.\n\n[456] Pantagruel, liv. v, chap. xlii, Paris, 1833, p. 341.\n\n[457] Morales, \u201cDe las Piedras Preciosas,\u201d Valladolid, 1604.\n\n[458] Morales, \u201cDe las piedras preciosas,\u201d Valladolid, 1604, pp.\n16a-16b.\n\n[459] Camilli Leonardi, \u201cSpeculum Lapidum,\u201d Venetia, 1502, f. liv-lvi.\n\n[460] Camilli Leonardi, \u201cSpeculum Lapidum,\u201d Venetia, 1502, f. liii.\n\n[461] Butler, \u201cHudibras,\u201d Part II, Canto III, 11, 1096-1103.\n\n[462] Artemidori Daldiani et Achametis Sereimi Oneirocritica, ed.\nRegaltius, Luteti\u00e6, 1603, pp. 86, 87.\n\n[463] Ibid., p. 228.\n\n[464] Venice, 1602, p. 254.\n\n[465] \u201cThe Hermetic and Alchemical writings of Aureolus Philippus\nTheophrastus Bombast of Hohenheim, called Paracelsus the Great,\u201d trans.\nby Arthur Edward Waite, London, 1894, Vol. I, pp. 14, 225, Vol. II, p.\n218.\n\n[466] Plutarchi, \u201cVit\u00e6,\u201d ed. Sinteris, Lipsi\u00e6, 1884, p. 339; Pericles,\n38.\n\n[467] Eusebii Pamphili, \u201cDe laudibus Constantini,\u201d cap. v; in Eusebii,\n\u201cOpera Omnia,\u201d ed. Migne, Parisiis, 1857, cols. 1337, 1340; Patrologi\u00e6\nGr\u00e6c\u00e6, vol. xx.\n\n[468] The Travels of Sir Jerome Horsey, Hakluyt Society, London, 1856,\npp. 199, 200.\n\n[469] The Fuggers of Augsburg, the jeweller bankers of the 15th and\n16th centuries.\n\n[470] Wolffii, \u201cCuriosus amuletorum scrutator,\u201d Francofurti et Lipsi\u00e6,\n1692, p. 363; citing Rodolphus Goclenius (De peste, p. 70).\n\n[471] Olaus Borrichius, in the Collection Acad\u00e9mique, Paris, 1757, tome\niv, p. 338.\n\n[472] Lapidario del Rey D. Alfonso X, Codice Original, Madrid, 1881, f.\nxi.\n\n[473] \u201cDe lapidibus,\u201d Friburgi, 1531, f. 8.\n\n[474] New edition of the Babylonian Talmud, ed. and trans. by Michael\nL. Rodkinson, vol. v (xiii), Baba Batra, New York, 1902, p. 53. See\nalso Beer, \u201cLeben Abraham\u2019s,\u201d Leipzig, 1859, p. 79.\n\n[475] Surindro Mohun Tagore, \u201cMani M\u00e1l\u00e1,\u201d Pt. I, Calcutta, 1879, pp.\n137, 139, 141.\n\n[476] Andrea Spigello, \u201cDe semitert.\u201d; cited in Gimma, \u201cDella Storia\nnaturale delle gemme,\u201d Napoli, 1730, vol. i, p. 208.\n\n[477] Raumer, \u201cHistorisches Taschenbuch,\u201d I Ser., vol. vi, Leipzig,\n1835, p. 370.\n\n[478] Josephi Gonelli, \u201cThesaurus philosophicus, seu de gemmis,\u201d\nNeapoli, 1702, pp. 76, 77.\n\n[479] Lapidario del Rey D. Alfonso X, Codice Original, Madrid, 1881, f.\nxv.\n\n[480] Marbodus, l. c., f. 48.\n\n[481] Rueus, l. c., p. 36.\n\n[482] Morales, \u201cDe las piedras preciosas,\u201d Valladolid, 1604, f. 101.\n\n[483] Andre\u00e6 Bacci, \u201cDe gemmis et lapidibus pretiosis,\u201d Francofurti,\n1603, pp. 63, 64 (annotation of Gabelchover to his Latin version).\n\n[484] Plinii, \u201cNaturalis historia,\u201d lib. xxxvii, cap. 16.\n\n[485] Psellus, \u201cDe lapidum virtutibus,\u201d Lug. Bat., 1745, p. 32.\n\n[486] Johannis Braunii, \u201cDe Vestitu sacerd. Heb.,\u201d Amstel., 1680, p.\n659.\n\n[487] From an old book the title-page of which reads: \u201cIn hoc volumine\nde Alchemia,\u201d etc., Norimberghe, 1541, p. 363.\n\n[488] Garbe, \u201cDie indische Mineralien; Naharari\u2019s R\u00e2janighantu, Varga\nxiii,\u201d Leipzig, 1882, p. 76.\n\n[489] Teifashi, \u201cFior di pensieri sulle pietre preziose,\u201d Ital. trans.\nby Antonio Raineri, Firenzi, 1818, p. 20.\n\n[490] \u201cThe Discovery of the Large, Rich, and Beautiful Empire of\nGuiana,\u201d London, 1848, p. 29, Hakluyt Pub. Originally published in 1596.\n\n[491] Lettres de Voiture, ed. by Octave Uzanne, Paris, 1880, vol. i, p.\n66, Letter XXIII.\n\n[492] Josephi Gonnelli, \u201cThesaurus philosophicus, seu de gemmis,\u201d\nNeapoli, 1702, pp. 157, 158.\n\n[493] Claudii Galeni, \u201cDe simplic. medicament., etc.,\u201d lib. ix, cap.\n19. \u201cOpera Omnia,\u201d ed. C. G. K\u00fchn, Lipsi\u00e6, 1826, vol. xii, p. 207. See\nalso Duffield Osborne, \u201cEngraved Gems,\u201d New York, 1912, pp. 138, 139.\n\n[494] Garbe, \u201cDie indische Mineralien\u201d; Naharari\u2019s \u201cR\u00e2janighantu,\u201d\nVarga XIII, Leipzig, 1882, p. 70.\n\n[495] The Vision of William Concerning Piers the Plowman, by William\nLangley (or Langland). Ed. by Rev. Walter W. Skeat, Oxford, 1881, p.\n16. Passus II, lines 8-15.\n\n[496] Trimmed with fur.\n\n[497] Handsomely.\n\n[498] Adorned.\n\n[499] Burning coal.\n\n[500] Aquamarines.\n\n[501] Poisons.\n\n[502] Dugdale, \u201cHistory of Saint Paul\u2019s Cathedral in London,\u201d London,\n1818, vol. i, pp. 15, 16. First edition published in 1658.\n\n[503] Alberti Magni, \u201cOpera omnia,\u201d ed. Borgnet, Paris, 1890, vol. v,\np. 44.\n\n[504] Labarte, \u201cInventaire du mobilier de Charles V,\u201d Paris, 1879, p.\n308, No. 2937.\n\n[505] \u201cA Ternary of Paradoxes, written originally by Joh. Bapt.\nVan Helmont and translated, illustrated, and amplicated by Walter\nCharleton,\u201d London, 1650, p. 17.\n\n[506] S. Hildegard\u00e6, \u201cOpera omnia,\u201d in Pat. Lat. ed. by J. P. Migne,\nvol. cxcvii, Parisiis, 1855, col. 1255.\n\n[507] Arnobio, \u201cIl tesoro delle gioie,\u201d Venice, 1602, p. 21.\n\n[508] Bellucci, \u201cIl feticismo in Italia,\u201d Perugia, 1907, p. 91, note.\n\n[509] Monardes, Semplicium medicamentorum ex novo orbe delatorum\nhistoria (Latin version by Clusius), Antverpi\u00e6, 1579, p. 51.\n\n[510] Sahagun, \u201cHistoria general de las cosas de Nueva Espa\u00f1a,\u201d vol.\niii. Mexico, 1830, pp. 300, 301; lib. xi, cap. viii.","title":"The Curious Lore of Precious Stones: Being a description of their sentiments and folk lore, superstitions, symbolism, mysticism, use in medicine, protection, prevention, religion, and divination. Crystal gazing, birth-stones, lucky stones and talismans, astral, zodiacal, and planetary","tradition":"folklore-oral-tradition","translated_text":null,"word_count":121056}