PERIDOT—RUBY
PERIDOT: PLASMA: THE REWARDING HERMES: PORPHYRY, ITS INTRODUCTION INTO
ROME BY VITRASIUS POLLIO: PRASE OR MOTHER OF EMERALD: PYRITE: THE
PYRITES LITHOS OF ISIDORE OF SEVILLE: A PRIMITIVE FIRESTONE: USED
FOR FIREARMS: THE “SEED OF MINERALS”: MUNDIC OF THE MINERS: ITS
CHANGE TO VITRIOL IN MINING DISTRICTS: SPINON OF THEOPHRASTUS:
FRENCH “PIERRE DE SANTÉ”: MARCASITE USED AS A JEWEL ORNAMENT: EDEN’S
FLOWERS OF METALS: PYROPE: QUARTZ: RUBELLITE: RUBICELLE: RUBY, THE
CORUNDUM FAMILY: THE TERM “ORIENTAL”: THE MOGOK MINES: “LORD OF THE
RUBIES”: THE MINE EATERS: “THE DRAGON LORD”: THE KING OF SCILAN’S
RUBY: COSMAS INDICOPLEUSTES: A CORONATION CUSTOM DESCRIBED BY
HATYON: TEARS OF BUDDHA: THE RUBY BOWL OF ARYA CHAKRAVARTI: COLONEL
ALEXANDER GARDENER AND THE FAKIR’S RUBY: THE KING OF VISHAPOOR’S
RUBY: RUBIES PLACED UNDER THE FOUNDATIONS OF BUILDINGS: RUBIES IN
THE CHO KENG SU: PLINY’S ACAUSTI: PRACTICE OF THE ETHIOPIANS:
ANTHRAX OF THEOPHRASTUS: DUKE OF DEVONSHIRE’S RUBY: RUBIES MENTIONED
BY MR. C. W. KING: RABBI RAGIEL’S TALISMAN: DRAGONS GUARDIANS OF
RUBY MINES: M. ROCHEFORT’S STORY AND THE RUBY IN THE DRAGON’S HEAD:
ST. MARGARET AND THE DRAGON: SHEIKH EL MOHDY AND THE RUBY-JEWELLED
DRAGON: BARTHOVERI AND THE SERPENT: DIEUDONNÉ OF GOZON AND THE
DRAGON OF RHODES: THE IMPORT OF THESE LEGENDS: ST. GEORGE AND ST.
MICHAEL AND THE DRAGONS: SHRINE OF THE MAGI IN COLOGNE CATHEDRAL:
THE SUN AND CHRISTIANITY: THE NAMES OF THE MAGI: THE ROSICRUCIAN
CLASSIFICATION: THE “RÉGALE” OF FRANCE, FROM THE TOMB OF ST. THOMAS
A’BECKET, WORN BY HENRY VIII: VOW OF LOUIS VII OF FRANCE AND ITS
FULFILMENT AT CANTERBURY: SWEDENBORG’S CORRESPONDENCE OF THE RUBY:
COMTESSE D’ANOIS’ STORY OF THE RUBY SINGING APPLE: THE ARABS AND THE
ANGEL OF THE WORLD: PERSIAN CHARM AGAINST THE FORCES OF EVIL: THE
4TH STONE OF THE NAO-RATTAN: BURMESE SYMBOL OF REINCARNATION: A RUBY
WHICH NEARLY DESTROYED A NATIVE STATE IN INDIA: JEWELLED RINGS ON
THE STATUE OF ST. LAMBERT AT LIÈGE CATHEDRAL: CATHARINE OF ARAGON
READS MISFORTUNE IN HER RUBY’S CHANGE OF COLOUR: OCCULT VIRTUES OF
THE RUBY: SYMBOL OF THE RUBY IN DREAMS: COLOUR PHENOMENA DISPLAYED
BY A RUBY: THE STAR RUBY: THE HUNTER AND THE RUBY.
PERIDOT. (See CHRYSOLITE.)
PLASMA. This variety of leek-green jasper is derived from the Greek word
PLASMA, an image. It was a favourite stone among the ancients who
employed it in gem engraving and for important talismans. In the Rhodes
collection there is a beautiful oval specimen on which is engraved a
nude figure of Hermes holding a caduceus in his left hand, whilst on his
right above a purse is perched a cock; a scorpion is on his left side, a
little above his knee. He wears the winged cap on his head. Mr. King
classes this piece as astrological. It symbolizes the wisdom and rewards
of the well-starred subject of Mercury. Plasma was largely used in
Abraxes charms by the Gnostics who employed the substance always for
special talismans. Astrologically Plasma is under the zodiacal Virgin.
PORPHYRY. The name is derived from the Greek word for
purple—PORPHYRA—and we find it written at various periods in many ways,
for example: porfurie, porphurye, purphire, porpherie, porphiry. It is a
hard purple and white stone, said to have been introduced into Rome by
Vitrasisus Pollio in the form of statues of Claudius. The quarries
whence the ancients obtained their supplies of porphyry were found at
Gebel Dokhan, near the Red Sea, by Wilkinson and Burton. It has always
been a favourite stone with sculptors, glyptic artists, and architects,
and was chiefly esteemed in the forming of columns. Porphyry was
regarded as a stone to promote eloquence in speaking. Astrologically it
was placed under “the sign of the Columns”—Gemini.
PRASE. The name is derived from the Greek PRASON, a leek. Leonardus
calls it Prassius, and he says it is so termed from a herb of its own
name. It is also written as prasius, prasium. It is thus described by
Marbodus:
“_Midst precious stones a place the Prase may claim,
Of value small, content with beauty’s fame.
No virtue has it: but it brightly gleams
With emerald green, and well the gold beseems;
Or blood-red spots diversify its green,
Or crossed with three white lines its face is seen._”
Other authors, however, endow the prase with a virtue. It was regarded
by some as a beauty charm for married women and for the mothers of
brides. It resembles the beryl in its clear form, but it is duller. It
is translucent and, as its name indicates, leek-green in colour. At one
time it was believed to be the matrix of the emerald, whence it was
called “Mother of Emerald.” It is under the zodiacal Taurus.
PYRITE
“_Named from the fire the yellow pyrite spurns
The touch of man, and to be handled scorns:
Touch it with trembling hand and cautious arm
For, tightly grasped, it burns the closed palm._”
The word is found also as pyrit, pirrite, and old writers of the 16th
century were especially fond of using pyrit stone. It is derived from
the Greek PUR, fire, and is allied to the fire stone family (Pyrites
Lithos) noted by Isidore of Seville (6th and 7th centuries) in his
philosophical fragments from the more ancient writers. He identifies the
black pyrites of Pliny in a black Persian stone which, if fractured, and
held in the hand, burns. It is assumed from the frequent occurrence of
pieces of pyrites in prehistoric mounds that primitive man used the
substance for kindling fires. Later we find it employed before the
introduction of flint in wheel lock fire arms when, in the same manner,
it threw out sparks of fire when energetically struck on steel. The
ancients had a theory that pyrite was the seed or original matter of
minerals, and we find it in rocks of every age. To mining people it is
known as Mundic. Auriferous pyrite which occurs in auriferous countries
contains certain quantities of gold, sometimes worth winning, and was
known as King of the Pyrites. The action of water and air makes it
troublesome in coal-mining districts. It is then changed into sulphate
of iron (vitriol) and fires the mines. Chambers (1866) mentions that “at
Quarreltown in Renfrewshire a deep hollow may still be seen where about
a century ago the ground fell in in consequence of a subterranean fire
thus kindled.” Theophrastus, the great Greek naturalist and philosopher
of the 3rd century, before the Christian era, mentions in his work on
stones the burning pyrite under the name Spinon which, he says, is
contained in certain mines and which, if crushed, watered and exposed to
the rays of the sun, bursts into flame. The French call this stone
Pierre de Santé (Stone of Health), because it was said that it is
affected by the health of the wearer. The white iron pyrites, known as
Marcasite, is of similar composition to the ordinary pyrite (Iron
Disulphide) but it takes on the orthorhombic form of crystallization
instead of the usual cube form. This word is also found written as
markasit, marquesite. The stone was largely used for jewel
ornamentation. Oliver Goldsmith, in “She Stoops to Conquer,” says: “Half
the ladies of our acquaintance carry their jewels to town and bring
nothing but paste and marcasites back.” Eden in 1555 wrote that
“Marchasites are flowers of metals by the colours whereof the kyndes of
metals are known.” Mr. William Jones mentions a ring in the possession
of a clergyman which is made of two hearts surmounted by a crown set
with marcasites. Rabbi Chael says that a man on horseback holding a
bridle and bent bow engraved on pyrites makes the wearer irresistible in
war. These stones are martial according to astrology and are attached to
the zodiacal Scorpio.
PYROPE. (See GARNET.)
QUARTZ. In 1772 Cronstedt wrote in his work on Mineralogy: “I shall
adopt the name of Quartz in English as it has already general access in
other European Languages.” There seems to be little doubt regarding the
origin of the word which comes from the German QUARZ. Professor James D.
Dana gives the Quartz varieties under the following heads:—
1. _Vitreous._ Distinguished by their glassy fracture.
2. _Chalcedonic._ Having a sub-vitreous or a waxy lustre and generally
translucent.
3. _Jaspery Cryptocrystalline._ Having barely a glimmering lustre or
none, and opaque.
To the first belong: Amethyst, Aventurine Quartz, Cairngorm, Citrine,
Ferruginous Quartz, False or Spanish Topaz, Milk Quartz, Prase, Rock
Crystal, Rose Quartz, Smoky Quartz.
To the second belong: Chalcedony, Chrysoprase, Sard, Carnelian, Agate,
Onyx, Cat’s Eye, Flint, Hornstone, Chert, Plasma.
To the third belong: Jasper, Heliotrope or Bloodstone, Lydian Stone,
Touchstone, Basanite, Silicified Wood, Pseudomorphous Quartz, etc.
Opal is a near ally to Quartz which is a most useful as well as an
ornamental substance.
RUBELLITE. (See TOURMALINE.)
RUBICELLE. (See SPINEL.)
RUBY
“_He that has once the flower of the Sunne
The perfect ruby which we call elixir._”
BEN JOHNSON.
The ruby derives its name from the Latin RUBER, red, and some of its
forms at various periods are given by Dr. Murray as rubye, rubie, rubey,
roby, rooby, rube, rubu, rybe, rybee, rybwe, ribe, riby. The stone is of
the corundum family which includes the sapphire, oriental amethyst,
oriental topaz, oriental chrysoberyl, oriental emerald, oriental
cats-eye, oriental moonstone, adamantine spar of hair-brown colour and
the well-known emery. The term “oriental” is also applied to the ruby
and serves to distinguish it from the spinel, ruby garnet and a number
of other red stones. The definition “oriental” is applied only to the
corundum family and was, according to Dr. G. F. H. Smith, attached to
these hard coloured stones which in early days reached Europe by way of
the East. The name CORUNDUM is derived from a Sanscrit word of doubtful
meaning, and the minerals included in it come next in hardness to the
diamond. The ruby therefore is a red sapphire, and the sapphire a blue
ruby, and it is no infrequent thing to find the two stones combined in
one specimen. Mr. Emanuel has drawn attention to the fact that rubies
and sapphires are always found in gold-bearing country. It has been
stated that whilst sapphires have been found in Australia the red
sapphire or ruby has not. This is incorrect. At the Anakie sapphire
fields in Central Queensland rubies are also found, and some specimens
exhibit blended colours. It is true, however, that rubies have not up to
the present been found in Australia in great quantities. The most
celebrated ruby mines in the world are the Mogok mines in Upper Burma.
Here the stones are found in Calcite deposits occurring in granular
limestone on the hill sides and in the clayey alluvial deposits of the
river beds. These workings are of very great age and until 1885 were the
monopoly of the Burmese Crown, the King being known as Lord of the
Rubies. In this country the ruby fields are called “Byon,” and the
miners “Twin-tsas” (mine eaters). These Twin-tsas were forced to
surrender to the monarch all big stones found by them, which stones were
carefully guarded in the Royal Treasure House. One of the mine eaters
found a large and beautiful gem which, in order to escape the selfish
conditions imposed, he divided into two parts; one of these he handed
over to the officers of the King, the other he endeavoured to conceal.
The plot it seems failed, with what result to the unfortunate “Eater” is
not told. The weight of these two sections after the cutter had exerted
his skill on them was 98 and 74 carats. A fine Burma ruby called “Gnaga
Boh,” or the Dragon Lord (the folklore of the East connects rubies and
dragons)—weighed when found over 40 carats, losing about half in the
cutting. The uncut part of the Great Burmese Ruby (a stone that weighed
400 carats and was split into three parts, two of which were cut) was
sold in Calcutta for 7 lakhs of rupees (at the exchange rate of two
shillings English for the rupee a lakh would equal £10,000). Marco Polo
writes of the great ruby possessed by the King of the Island of Seilan
(Ceylon), “The finest and biggest in the world”: “It is about a palm in
length and as thick as a man’s arm: to look at, it is the most
resplendent object upon earth: it is quite free from flaw and is as red
as fire. Its value is so great that a price for it in money could not be
named. The great Kaan sent an embassy and begged the King as a favour to
sell this to him offering to give for it the ransom of a city or, in
fact, what the King would. But the King replied that on no account
whatever would he sell it for it had come to him from his ancestors.”
The great merchant-traveller Cosmas Indicopleustes, of Alexandria,
writes in his “Voyages” (1666) of this stone, which “they say is of
great size and brilliant ruddy hue, as large as a giant pine cone. When
seen flashing from afar—especially if the Sun’s rays flood upon it—it is
a sight both marvellous and unequalled.” Hayton, his contemporary, also
writes of this wonderful stone: “At the King of the Island of Ceylon’s
coronation he places this ruby in his left hand and rides thus with it
throughout his city, after which all know him as their King and obey him
as such.” The Chinese writer Hyuen Tsang also writes of this great
stone, as does Odoric. Friar Jordamus discourses not only of this but of
the great and wonderful rubies in the possession of the Island King.
Andrea Corsali (1515) also writes of the King of Sylen’s (Ceylon) two
great rubies—“so shining and sparkling as to seem like flames of fire.”
In the Ceylon river beds fine rubies are discovered, and old writers say
that many are washed down from the mountain “which they call Adam’s
Peak.” There was superstitious belief in the beautiful Island of Ceylon
that rubies are the consolidated tears of Buddha. One of the great
mediaeval Tamul chiefs, Arya Chakravarti, had, it is said, a ruby bowl
the size of the palm of a man’s hand, which was remarkable for its
brilliant colour. Colonel Alexander Gardner, Colonel of Artillery in the
service of Maharaja Ranyit Singh, describes a visit he made with the Bai
or Baron of the Kirghiz to a venerable aged fakir whose worldly
possessions seemed to consist of earthen pots of grain placed in a hole
in the middle of his hut. The old philosopher was the reputed possessor
of a rare and beautiful ruby. For this the Bai entreated the silent and
unmoved fakir, declaring that with it alone could he induce the robber
chief he was travelling to see to spare “the lives, property and honour
of all the innocent families around.” At last the fakir quietly arose,
and after a little fumbling produced the gem which, with a dignified
gesture, he placed softly in the Bai’s hands, giving him his blessing
and expressing the hope that the offering might have the desired result,
after which he relapsed into silent reverie. He declined money for the
gem, asking only that some grain might be sent him so “that he might be
able to relieve way-worn and destitute travellers.” The Colonel examined
the gem and found cut in high relief on the centre of the oblong face of
the stone a small Zoroastrian altar. Round this altar were double
cordons of letters similar to those appearing on the Scytho Bactrian
coins. The Colonel describes the gem as pure and lustrous, of great
value, and from 150 to 200 carats in weight. This rare gem was
discovered at the time of Timur by an ancestor of the fakir in a cave
near the famous shrine of the city of Esh or Oosh on the Bolor Ranges.
A fine ruby of 50 carats which belonged to the King of Vishapoor is
mentioned by Tavernier. In China the ruby has always been esteemed and
its primary importance as a distinguishing emblem in the cap of the
Chief Mandarin had already been noted. A specimen was also placed under
the foundations of a building of importance “to give it a good destiny.”
In the Chinese work CHO KENG LU which relates to various affairs up to
the Mongol dynasty, deep red rubies are termed “Si-la-ni”; scholars
translate this word as “from Ceylon.” They are also known as “Hung Pao
Shi” (precious red stone) and “Chin Chu.” It has a sacred meaning and
talismanic virtue and is attached to the dress set in rare jade and
employed as a precious ornament. Pliny calls rubies “Acausti” and says
that they are not injured by fire. He relates a practice of the
merchants of Ethiopia of placing a ruby in a vinegar solution for two
weeks to improve its lustre. The effect was, it is said, good for a
short period of time but ultimately the stones became soft and fragile.
The ANTHRAX or “glowing coals” of Theophrastus is identified as the ruby
as we know it today. He gives us an idea of the money value of this
stone by stating that a very small specimen would sell for forty golden
staters (a gold stater is worth about a 5-dollar gold piece of the
United States). Amongst the gems collected in the 18th century by
William, third Duke of Devonshire, there is a ruby of about three carats
weight, described by Mr. King as of “the most delicious cerise colour”
on which are cut deeply the figures of Venus and Cupid. The work is of
the middle Roman Period and Mr. King deplores the fact that the great
value of the gem was in his opinion injured by the inferiority of the
workmanship. A Faun’s Head on an inferior ruby in the same collection is
superior from an art point of view and of greater age. Mr. King mentions
a beautiful rose-coloured ruby of irregular form on which is a
magnificent head of Thetis wearing a crab’s shell helmet of most
exquisite Greek work. Rabbi Ragiel (“Book of Wings”) writes that the
figure of a dragon cut on a ruby increases the worldly possessions of
the wearer, giving happiness and ease. Old legends say that the ruby
mines as well as the emerald mines were guarded by dragons and the
symbolic connection between the dragon and the ruby has the virtue of
far-reaching antiquity. M. Rochefort in his “Natural History of the
Antilles,” says that the Caribbees of Dominica speak of a dragon which
lives in a declivity of the rocks and in whose head is a giant ruby so
brilliant that the surrounding country is illuminated by it. These
people believed that the Son of God came out of the heavens to slay the
dragon. St. Margaret is said to have subdued a dragon and to have taken
a wonderful ruby from its head. The Arabian writer Sheikh El Mohdy has
amongst his stories one telling of a terrible dragon which inhabited the
island of Ceylon and carried in his head a large ruby which shone for
many miles amidst the darkness of night. The Indian philosopher
Barthoveri said that “the serpent is malefic although it carries a ruby
in its head.” Dieudonné of Goyon is said to have killed a terrible
dragon at Rhodes and to have drawn from its head a wonderful iridescent
stone the size of an olive. Some few writers substitute the diamond for
the ruby, but whether we take the many-coloured stone of Dieudonné
(which it has been said was a diamond) or the stones of the Sun, the
ruby and the diamond, the import of the legends are similar. The dragon
as the symbol of the lower forces whether as the poisonous emanations of
stagnant waters or as the Serpent of Eden—the planet Mars and one of his
heavenly Houses, Scorpio, or the planet Saturn and his heavenly House,
Capricorn—is continually exposed to the benefic rays of the Sun. These
rays are personified by the contests between the Sun-Angel Michael and
the Dragon and our well-known St. George.
The three skulls, said to be the skulls of the “Three Kings” in the
jewelled “Shrine of the Magi” in Cologne Cathedral, have their names
Melchior, Gaspar and Balthazar worked on them in rubies, perhaps because
the Sun, planet of the ruby, was the accredited planet of Christianity
as noted by Albertus Magnus and the Cardinal Dailly. The names of the
Magi have also been given as Megalath, Galgalath and Sarasin—Apellius,
Amerus and Damascus—Ator, Sator and Peratoras. In their allegories the
Rosicrucians follow very nearly the names on the skulls in the 12th
century Shrine at Cologne, viz.:
_Jasper or Gaspar, the white lord with a diamond
Melchior, the bright lord with a diamond
Belshazzar or Balthazar, the treasure lord with a ruby._
It is said that Henry VIII wore on his thumb a ring in which was set a
ruby—some say a diamond—from the tomb of St. Thomas A’Becket. This ruby,
known as the “Régale of France,” was the talismanic gem of the French
King Louis VII who, in accordance with a battle-vow, visited the tomb at
Canterbury in the year 1179. Whilst offering his devotions he was asked
by the priests at the shrine to give as an offering this beautiful
jewel. Being loath to part with his talisman, the King agreed to give
one hundred thousand florins in its stead, to which generous
substitution the Canterbury fathers humbly agreed. But the precious ruby
which dazzled all with its brightness, turning night into day, refused
to be thus protected and, flying from the setting of the ring on the
King’s finger, fixed itself on the Saint’s tomb.
Swedenborg recognizes in the ruby a gem of passionate devotion and
likens it to the appearance of the Lord’s Divine Sphere represented in
the celestial Heavens.
In Comtesse d’Anois’ fairy story “Chery and Fairstar” there is a
narrative of a ruby apple on an amber stem which is known as the
“Singing Apple.” This apple gave forth a perfume so weirdly sweet that
it caused people to laugh or to cry, to write poems or to sing songs;
but when it sang itself the hearers were transported with ecstasy.
Guarded by a great three-headed dragon with twelve feet, the apple
rested in the Libyan desert whence it was secured by Prince Chery in his
glass armour, the reflections of which drove the terrified dragon into a
cave, the entrance to which was securely shut up by the victor.
The Arabs say that the Angel Bearer of the World stands on a rock of
pure ruby, and amongst the Persians the gem was used in magical rites as
a charm against the Black Forces. It was the fourth stone of the
Nao-Rattan which Iarchus gave to Apollonius, representing Benevolence,
Charity, Divine Power, and Dignity. The Burmese value the ruby as an
especially sacred stone which to them is a symbol of the last
incarnation which precedes the final embrace of Divinity. The beautiful
ruby is likened to rich ripe fruit, and its magical power is matured. It
has been stated that the ruby is unfortunate for India—a country under
the Celestial Capricorn—and one great specimen nearly destroyed a native
state, after which event it was buried with solemn ceremonies in the
heart of the Himalayas.
It was an ancient custom to adorn sacred statues with precious stones
and the practice has survived into Christian times. Mr. William Jones
describes a large shrine in the Liège Cathedral whereon was a figure,
more than life size, of St. Lambert. On each hand were three jewelled
rings, the most brilliant of which was set with a rare 10-carat ruby.
The shrine was of the latter 15th and early 16th centuries. Many similar
votive offerings are recorded.
For a ruby to change its colour was regarded as a forerunner of
misfortune, and it is said that the unhappy wife of Henry VIII,
Catharine of Aragon, observing a change in her ruby ring, foretold her
own fall. After danger has passed, old writers say, the ruby returns to
its colour again, if it is the true gem of the wearer.
The ruby is an emblem of passion, affection, power and majesty. It had
the reputation of attracting and retaining material love. It was
probably for this reason that the amorous Henry VIII of England wore the
“Régale of France.” It removed obstacles, gave victory, and revealed the
hidden places of stolen treasure. It signified vitality, life and
happiness, and was an amulet against plagues, poison, sorrow and evil
spirits, who dreaded the flashing of the stone from the hand of a good
person.
[Illustration:
HOROSCOPE OF HENRY VIII OF ENGLAND
The Ruby was considered the fortunate gem for this King.</sc>
]
To dream of a ruby indicated to the business man rich patronage and
success in trade, to the farmer a successful harvest and to the
professional man elevation or fame and success in different degrees. It
was always considered more fortunate to wear the ruby on the left hand
or left side of the body. The colours of the gem vary from a light rose
to a deep red, the most expensive colour being that nearest to pigeon’s
blood. Submitted to a high temperature it turns green but when cooling
returns to its original colour. A particularly fortunate and rare
variety is the Star or Asteriated ruby which exhibits a perfect star on
its beautifully rounded cabochon surface, coming as it were from a
chatoyant interior. Messrs. Jerningham and Bettany in their Bargain Book
relate how a traveller in Amazonia found in the crop of a bird which he
had shot, a large and handsome ruby which he had cut and set in a ring
as a souvenir of this uncommon event.
The ruby is under the Celestial sign Leo.