Some stones are preserved by the curious, for representing distinctly
figures traced by nature alone, and without the aid of art.
Pliny mentions an agate, in which appeared, formed by the hand of
nature, Apollo amidst the Nine Muses holding a harp. At Venice another
may be seen, in which is naturally formed the perfect figure of a man.
At Pisa, in the church of St. John, there is a similar natural
production, which represents an old hermit in a desert, seated by the
side of a stream, and who holds in his hands a small bell, as St.
Anthony is commonly painted. In the temple of St. Sophia, at
Constantinople, there was formerly on a white marble the image of St.
John the Baptist covered with the skin of a camel; with this only
imperfection, that nature had given but one leg. At Ravenna, in the
church of St. Vital, a cordelier is seen on a dusky stone. They found in
Italy a marble, in which a crucifix was so elaborately finished, that
there appeared the nails, the drops of blood, and the wounds, as
perfectly as the most excellent painter could have performed. At
Sneilberg, in Germany, they found in a mine a certain rough metal, on
which was seen the figure of a man, who carried a child on his back. In
Provence they found in a mine a quantity of natural figures of birds,
trees, rats, and serpents; and in some places of the western parts of
Tartary, are seen on divers rocks the figures of camels, horses, and
sheep. Pancirollus, in his Lost Antiquities, attests, that in a church
at Rome, a marble perfectly represented a priest celebrating mass, and
raising the host. Paul III. conceiving that art had been used, scraped
the marble to discover whether any painting had been employed: but
nothing of the kind was discovered. "I have seen," writes a friend,
"many of these curiosities. They are _always helped out_ by art. In my
father's house was a gray marble chimney-piece, which abounded in
portraits, landscapes, &c., the greatest part of which was made by
myself." I have myself seen a large collection, many certainly untouched
by art. One stone appears like a perfect cameo of a Minerva's head;
another shows an old man's head, beautiful as if the hand of Raffaelle
had designed it. Both these stones are transparent. Some exhibit
portraits.
There is preserved in the British Museum a black stone, on which nature
has sketched a resemblance of the portrait of Chaucer.[72] Stones of
this kind, possessing a sufficient degree of resemblance, are rare; but
art appears not to have been used. Even in plants, we find this sort of
resemblance. There is a species of the orchis, where Nature has formed a
bee, apparently feeding in the breast of the flower, with so much
exactness, that it is impossible at a very small distance to distinguish
the imposition. Hence the plant derives its name, and is called the
BEE-FLOWER. Langhorne elegantly notices its appearance:--
See on that flow'ret's velvet breast,
How close the busy vagrant lies!
His thin-wrought plume, his downy breast,
The ambrosial gold that swells his thighs.
Perhaps his fragrant load may bind
His limbs;--we'll set the captive free--
I sought the LIVING BEE to find,
And found the PICTURE of a BEE.
The late Mr. Jackson, of Exeter, wrote to me on this subject: "This
orchis is common near our sea-coasts; but instead of being exactly like
a BEE, _it is not like it at all_. It has a general resemblance to a
_fly_, and by the help of imagination may be supposed to be a fly
pitched upon the flower. The mandrake very frequently has a forked root,
which may be fancied to resemble thighs and legs. I have seen it helped
out with nails on the toes."
An ingenious botanist, after reading this article, was so kind as to
send me specimens of the _fly_ orchis, _ophrys muscifera_, and of the
_bee_ orchis, _ophrys apifera_. Their resemblance to these insects when
in full flower is the most perfect conceivable: they are distinct
plants. The poetical eye of Langhorne was equally correct and fanciful;
and that too of Jackson, who differed so positively. Many controversies
have been carried on, from a want of a little more knowledge; like that
of the BEE _orchis_ and the FLY _orchis_, both parties prove to be
right.
Another curious specimen of the playful operations of nature is the
mandrake; a plant, indeed, when it is bare of leaves, perfectly
resembling that of the human form. The ginseng tree is noticed for the
same appearance. This object the same poet has noticed:--
Mark how that rooted mandrake wears
His human feet, his human hands;
Oft, as his shapely form he rears,
Aghast the frighted ploughman stands.
He closes this beautiful fable with the following stanza not inapposite
to the curious subject of this article:
Helvetia's rocks, Sabrina's waves,
Still many a shining pebble bear:
Where nature's studious hand engraves
The PERFECT FORM, and leaves it there.