The Magic of Jewels and Charms
“A Volume of Absorbing Interest.”—_N. Y. Sun._
THE CURIOUS LORE OF PRECIOUS STONES
BY GEORGE FREDERICK KUNZ,
A.M., PH.D., D.SC.
BEING A DESCRIPTION OF THEIR SENTIMENTS AND FOLKLORE, SUPERSTITIONS,
SYMBOLISM, MYSTICISM, USE IN PROTECTION, PREVENTION, RELIGION AND
DIVINATION, CRYSTAL GAZING, BIRTH-STONES, LUCKY STONES AND TALISMANS,
ASTRAL, ZODIACAL, AND PLANETARY
With 86 illustrations in color, doubletone and line. Octavo.
Handsome cloth binding, gilt top, in a box. $5.00 net. Carriage
charges extra.
This work represents the observations and discoveries during twenty-five
years of collecting on the part of Dr. Kunz, and will be found a rarely
interesting galaxy of anecdote, research, and information upon a
fascinating subject.
J. B. LIPPINCOTT COMPANY
PUBLISHERS PHILADELPHIA
[Illustration:
By courtesy of W. Griggs and Sons, Ltd., London.
MODEL OF A HINDU LADY, ILLUSTRATING THE MODE OF WEARING JEWELRY IN
NORTH INDIA
From the Journal of Indian Art.
]
[Illustration]
The Magic of Jewels and Charms
BY
GEORGE FREDERICK KUNZ
A.M., PH.D., D.SC.
WITH 90 ILLUSTRATIONS IN COLOR, DOUBLETONE AND LINE
[Illustration]
PHILADELPHIA & LONDON
J. B. Lippincott Company
COPYRIGHT, 1915, BY J. B. LIPPINCOTT COMPANY
PRINTED IN UNITED STATES OF AMERICA
TO THE MEMORY OF
THE LATE
PROFESSOR THOMAS EGLESTON, PH.D., LL. D.
OFFICIER DE LA LÉGION D’HONNEUR AND FOUNDER OF THE SCHOOL OF
MINES, COLUMBIA UNIVERSITY, AN ARDENT LOVER OF MINERALS, KEENLY
APPRECIATIVE OF PRECIOUS STONES, AND A KINDLY FRIEND OF THE
AUTHOR, THIS VOLUME IS RESPECTFULLY DEDICATED
Preface
Jewels, gems, stones, superstitions and astrological lore are all so
interwoven in history that to treat of either of them alone would mean
to break the chain of association linking them one with the other.
Beauty of color or lustre in a stone or some quaint form attracts the
eye of the savage, and his choice of material for ornament or adornment
is also conditioned by the toughness of some stones as compared with the
facility with which others can be chipped or polished.
Whereas a gem might be prized for its beauty by a single individual
owner, a stone of curious and suggestive form sometimes claimed the
reverence of an entire tribe, since it was thought to be the abode or
the chosen instrument of some spirit or genius.
Just as the appeal to higher powers for present help in pressing
emergencies preceded the development of a formal religious faith, so
this never-failing need of protectors or healers eventually led to the
attribution of powers of protection to the spirits of men and women who
had led holy lives and about whose history legend had woven a web of
pious imaginations at a time when poetic fancy reigned instead of
historic record. The writer still holds that true sentiment, the
antithesis of superstitious dread, is good for all mankind—sentiment
meaning optimism as truly as superstition stands for pessimism—and that
even the fancies generated by sentiment are helpful to us and make us
happier; and surely happiness often means health, and happiness and
health combined aid to evolve that other member of the triumvirate,
wealth. Do we not often wish for the union of these three supreme
blessings?
At all times and in all periods there have been optimists and
pessimists, the former animated by the life-bringing sentiment of hope,
and the latter oppressed by the death-dealing sense of fear. Let us
always choose a happy medium between a foolish excess of hope and an
unreasonable apprehension of future troubles. The world’s history and
our own experience show us that it is the optimist who has caused the
world to progress, and we should trust and believe that the sentiment of
hope and faith will always animate humanity.
We know that for centuries it has been believed that amber necklaces
protect children from cold. May we not also now add that to pearls the
same qualities are attributed? There must be a reason for this. May not
this belief be ascribed to the circumstance that in the wearing of
either of these gems their virtue consists in the fact that the
necklaces do not cover the neck? In other words, they are worn on the
bare throat and the opinion prevails that an exposed neck means less
liability to cold. For, where the neck is never overheated and then
suddenly chilled, a normal temperature being maintained, there should be
protection from colds and from the many ills resulting from them. As to
pearls, this might serve to illustrate the poetic fancy that these
sea-gems are tears by angels shed to bring mortals joy.
Having collected a large mass of material, ethnological, historical and
legendary, in the course of personal observations and study, it was
decided that the companion volume, the twin sister of “The Curious Lore
of Precious Stones,” need not treat of gems _alone_.
For courtesies, information and illustrations I am indebted to the
following to whom my sincere thanks are due: Prof. T. Wada, of Tokyo,
Japan; Dr. G. O. Clerc, President of the Societe Curalienne des Amis des
Sciences Naturelles, Ekaterineburg, Russia; Dr. Charles Braddock, late
Medical Inspector to the King of Siam; Sir Charles Hercules Reed,
Curator of Archæology, British Museum, London; A. W. Feavearyear,
London; Dr. Peter Jessen, Librarian of the Kunstegewerbe Museum of
Berlin; Miss Belle DaCosta Green; Dr. Berthold Laufer, Oriental
Archæologist, Field Museum of Natural History, Chicago; Dr. Oliver P.
Farrington, Field Museum of Natural History, Chicago; Hereward
Carrington, Psychist, New York; Dr. W. Hayes Ward, Archæologist and
Babylonian Scholar; Mrs. Henry Draper, New York; W. W. Blake, Mexico
City, who has done so much to encourage Mexican archæological
investigation; Dr. Edward Forrester Sutton, New York; Dr. W. H. Holmes
of the United States Bureau of Ethnology, Washington; Mr. McNeil M.
Judd, Archæologist, United States National Museum; Dr. Arthur Fairbanks,
Director of the Boston Museum of Fine Arts; Tan Sien Ko, Government
Archæologist of Burma; Dr. Charles C. Abbott, Archæologist, Trenton,
N. J.; Edgar T. Willson, of the Jewelers’ Circular Publishing Co.; Dr.
Edward H. Thompson, Archæologist, of Progreso, Yucatan, Mexico, and
Cambridge, Mass.; Rev. Charles Sadleir of Aurcaria, Chile; Mrs. Nona
Lebour of Corbridge-on-Tyne, England; and Dr. Charles P. Fagnani, Union
Theological Seminary, New York City.
G. F. K.
SEPTEMBER, 1915
Contents
CHAPTER PAGE
I. MAGIC STONES AND ELECTRIC GEMS 1
II. ON METEORITES, OR CELESTIAL STONES 72
III. STONES OF HEALING 118
IV. ON THE VIRTUES OF FABULOUS STONES, CONCRETIONS AND FOSSILS 160
V. SNAKE-STONES AND BEZOARS 201
VI. ANGELS AND MINISTERS OF GRACE 241
VII. ON THE RELIGIOUS USE OF VARIOUS STONES 277
VIII. AMULETS: ANCIENT, MEDIEVAL, AND ORIENTAL 313
IX. AMULETS OF PRIMITIVE PEOPLES AND OF MODERN TIMES 348
X. FACTS AND FANCIES ABOUT PRECIOUS STONES 377
Illustrations
COLOR PLATES
PAGE
MODEL OF A HINDU LADY, ILLUSTRATING THE MODE OF WEARING
JEWELRY IN NORTH INDIA _Frontispiece_.
JADE BELL OF THE K’IEN-LUNG PERIOD (1731–1795) 143
1, 1½. EMERALD THAT BELONGED TO THE DEPOSED SULTAN OF
TURKEY. 2. ALMANDITE GARNET. 3. SARDONYX IDOL-EYE OF
A BABYLONIAN BULL. 4. AQUAMARINE SEAL 159
ILLUSTRATING PRECIOUS STONES AND MINERALS USED FOR
SEALS IN ANCIENT ASSYRIA AND BABYLONIA 242
PERFORATED JADE DISK CALLED _Ts’ang Pi_, A CHINESE
SYMBOL OF THE DEITY HEAVEN (T’IEN) 302
TURQUOISE INCRUSTED OBJECTS, PROBABLY AMULETS, FOUND AT
PUEBLO BONITO, NEW MEXICO 353
HILT OF JEWELLED SWORD GIVEN BY THE GREEKS OF THE
UNITED STATES ON EASTER DAY, 1913, TO THE CROWN
PRINCE OF GREECE, LATER KING CONSTANTINE XII 370
DOUBLETONES
INDIAN MEDICINE-MEN 18
CHALCEDONY AND AGATE PEBBLES FROM PESCADERO BEACH, SAN
MATEO COUNTY, CALIFORNIA 30
PEBBLE BEACH, REDONDO, LOS ANGELES COUNTY, CALIFORNIA 30
HINDU WEARING A COLLECTION OF ANCESTRAL PEBBLES AS
AMULETS 37
KILLING A DRAGON TO EXTRACT ITS PRECIOUS STONE 45
NATURALLY MARKED STONE 45
A SIMPLE APPARATUS FOR ILLUSTRATING THE ELECTRIC
PROPERTIES OF THE TOURMALINE 54
NECKLACE OF FACETED AMBER BEADS 63
VIGNETTE FROM THE “LAPIDARIO DE ALFONSO X, CODICE
ORIGINAL” 69
THE “MADONNA DI FOLIGNO,” BY RAPHAEL 73
THE KAABA AT MECCA 84
“AHNIGHITO,” THE GREAT CAPE YORK METEORITE, WEIGHING
MORE THAN 36½ TONS 96
“THE WOMAN,” CAPE YORK METEORITE 97
“THE DOG,” CAPE YORK METEORITE 98
TWO VIEWS OF THE WILLAMETTE METEORITE NOW IN THE
AMERICAN MUSEUM OF NATURAL HISTORY, NEW YORK CITY 99
FLINT AMULETS OF THE PREDYNASTIC PERIOD, EGYPT 108
THE “ORTUS SANITATIS” OF JOHANNIS DE CUBA, PUBLISHED AT
STRASSBURG IN 1483 122
FAMOUS PEARL NECKLACE OF THE UNFORTUNATE EMPRESS
CARLOTTA, WIDOW OF EMPEROR MAXIMILIAN OF MEXICO 126
JADE TONGUE AMULETS FOR THE DEAD. CHINESE 139
FRONTISPIECE OF MUSEUM WORMIANUM 141
ANCIENT PERSIAN RELIC KNOWN AS THE “CUP OF CHOSROES” 154
BEZOARS OF EMPEROR RUDOLPH II, NOW IN THE HOFMUSEUM,
VIENNA 216
FRONTISPIECE AND TITLE-PAGE OF FRANCESCO REDI’S
“EXPERIMENTA NATURALIA,” AMSTERDAM 1675, AND TWO
SPECIMEN PAGES OF THIS TREATISE 232
FORMS OF TABASHEER 233
SPECIMENS OF TABASHEER 235
ZODIAC MOHURS, COINED BY THE MOGUL SOVEREIGN SHAH
JEHAN, ABOUT 1628 246
THE MEDIEVAL CONCEPTION OF THE COSMOS, THE SUCCESSIVE
SPHERES OF THE PLANETS, INCLUDING THE SUN, AND BEYOND
THESE THE CRYSTALLINE HEAVEN AND THE EMPYREAN 248
THE ANGEL RAPHAEL REFUSING THE GIFTS OFFERED BY TOBIT 250
SANTA BARBARA 258
BLOODSTONE MEDALLION, SHOWING THE SANTA CASA OF LORETO
CARRIED BY ANGELS TO DALMATIA FROM GALILEE 267
CHINESE JADE AMULETS FOR THE DEAD 283
LA MADONNA DELLA SALUTE, BY OTTAVIANO NELLI 287
CEREMONY ANNUALLY OBSERVED IN THE MOGUL EMPIRE OF
WEIGHING THE SOVEREIGN AGAINST PRECIOUS METALS,
JEWELS AND OTHER VALUABLE OBJECTS, WHICH WERE
DISTRIBUTED AS GIFTS 301
THE SACRED WELL OF CHICHEN ITZÁ 307
CARVED AND WORKED STONES FROM THE SACRED WELL AT
CHICHEN ITZÁ, YUCATAN, MEXICO 308
EYE-AGATES 315
TYPES OF EGYPTIAN SEALS AND SCARABS IN THE MURCH
COLLECTION, METROPOLITAN MUSEUM OF ART, NEW YORK 316
COLOSSAL SCARAB IN BLACK GRANITE, BRITISH MUSEUM 320
A MEDIEVAL SPELL 328
FROM A PORTRAIT OF QUEEN ELIZABETH 337
COMPLETE VIEW OF THE ANCIENT JADE GIRDLE-PENDANT (FROM
KU YÜ T’U P’U) 341
TIBETAN WOMAN WITH COMPLETE JEWELRY 343
“THE LIGHT OF THE EAST” 345
INDIAN MEDICINE-MAN 354
HEI-TIKI AMULETS OF NEW ZEALAND 362
JEWELLED SWORD GIVEN BY THE GREEKS OF THE UNITED
STATES, ON EASTER DAY, 1913, TO CROWN PRINCE
CONSTANTINE, LATER KING CONSTANTINE XII OF GREECE.
TOP OF SCABBARD, SHOWING DIDRACHM OF ALEXANDER THE
GREAT 373
SIDE VIEW OF HILT 373
“THE LEGEND OF THE MOONSTONE,” AUTOGRAPHED FOR THIS
WORK BY THE AUTHOR OF THE POEM, DR. EDWARD FORRESTER
SUTTON 386
CLEOPATRA DISSOLVING HER PRICELESS PEARL AT THE BANQUET
TO MARK ANTONY 394
LINE CUTS
TITLE-PAGE OF ONE OF THE EARLIEST TREATISES ON
METEORITES 91
TYPES OF CERAUNIA OR “THUNDER-STONES” 111
INTERIOR OF FIFTEENTH CENTURY PHARMACY 122
EXTRACTING TOAD-STONE 162
TOAD-STONES. NATURAL CONCRETIONS OF CLAYSTONE AND
LIMONITE 163
TYPES OF CHELONIÆ (TORTOISE-STONES). NATURAL
CONCRETIONS 171
CHELIDONIUS, OR “SWALLOW-STONES” 172
ÆTITES 175
EXTRACTING AN ALECTORIUS 179
ALECTORIUS 180
LAPIS MANATI 182
LAPIS MALACENSIS, STONE OF THE HEDGEHOG OR PORCUPINE 183
LAPIS JUDAICUS. PENTREMITE HEADS 187
GLOSSOPETRÆ. FOSSIL SHARK’S TEETH 188
BELEMNITES. FOSSILIZED BONY END OF EXTINCT CUTTLE-FISH 191
BRONTIA. FOSSIL SEA-URCHINS 193
TROCHITES } FOSSIL
} CRINOID 194
ENASTROS } STEMS
BUCARDITES TRIPLEX 195
TYPES OF OMBRIA (FOSSIL SEA-URCHINS) 196
CORNU AMMONIS (FOSSIL NAUTILUS) 197
SPECIMENS OF ASTROITES (ASTERIA), OR FOSSIL CORAL 199
APPLICATION OF A BEZOAR TO CURE A VICTIM OF POISONING 202
MONKEY BEZOAR 204
1. HEDGE-HOGSTONE FROM MALACCA. 2, 3. SPURIOUS STONES
OF THIS TYPE MANUFACTURED IN CEYLON. 205
CALCULI TAKEN FROM BLADDER OF POPE PIUS V 220
TYPES OF THE OVUM ANGUINUM. ECHINITES (SEA-URCHINS) 222
COBRA DE CAPELLO 236
CANADIAN INDIAN MEDICINE-MAN 357
THE BIRTH OF THE OPAL 374
EAST INDIAN BAROQUE PEARL 392
The Magic of Jewels and Charms
I
Magic Stones and Electric Gems
While the precious and semi-precious stones were often worn as amulets
or talismans, the belief in the magic quality of mineral substances was
not confined to them, but was also held in regard to large stone masses
of peculiar form, or having strange markings or indentations; moreover,
many small stones, possessing neither worth nor beauty, were thought to
exert a certain magical influence upon natural phenomena. An occult
power of this sort was also attributed by tradition to some mythical
stones, the origin of this fancy being frequently explicable by the
quality really inherent in some known mineral bearing a designation
closely similar to that bestowed upon the imaginary stone.
To certain stones has been attributed the power to produce musical
tones, the most famous example being the so-called “Vocal Memnon” of
Thebes. This colossal statue was said to emit a melodious sound when the
sun rose, and according to Greek legend this sound was a greeting given
by Memnon to his mother, the Dawn. It appears, however, that the statue
was a respecter of persons, for when the Emperor Hadrian presented
himself before it, he is said to have heard the sound three times,
whereas common mortals heard it but once, or at most twice, while
occasionally the statue withheld its greeting altogether. A modern
traveller relates a personal experience that may cast a side-light upon
this matter. His visit to Thebes was made in the evening, but a fellah
who was standing near the statue asked him whether he wished to hear the
musical sound. Of course the reply was in the affirmative. Thereupon the
man climbed up the side of the colossal figure and hid himself behind
the elbow. In a moment sharp metallic sounds became audible; not a
single sound, but several in succession. Knowing from their quality that
they could not proceed from the stone, the traveller asked his
donkey-boy for an explanation and was told that the man was striking an
iron bar. In ancient times the priests probably performed this or a
similar trick in a much more skilful way than did the poor fellah, so
that the mystery of the statue was carefully guarded.[1]
The river Hydaspes was said to furnish a “musical stone.” When the moon
was waxing, this stone gave forth a melodious sound.[2] This should be
understood in the sense that when the stone was struck at that season
the sound was different from what it was at other times—a fanciful idea
based on some supposed sympathy between the stone and the moon. As
moonstones are rarely larger than a silver dollar, they would not emit a
sound upon being struck, and it is probably a rock known as “chinkstone”
(phonolite) that is referred to, an igneous rock, very hard and
resonant, that has been found in elongated and flat pebbles of large
size; they ring with the resonance of bells when struck. A sonorous
stone at Megara is reported by Pausanias[3]; when struck, it emitted the
sound of the chord of a lyre. This was explained by the tale that, while
helping Alcathous to build the walls of his city, the god Apollo had
rested his lyre on the stone.
The term sarcophagus is to us so clear and precise in its significance,
that we do not stop to think that its etymology reveals it as literally
meaning body-devourer. Tradition taught that a stone of this type was to
be found near Assos in Lycia, Asia Minor, and also in some parts of the
Orient. If attached to the body of a living person it would eat away the
flesh. Another type, already noted by Theophrastus in the third century
B.C., had the power of petrifying any object placed within receptacles
made from it. If a dead person were buried in a “sarcophagus” of this
material the body would not be consumed, but would, on the contrary, be
turned to stone, even the shoes of the corpse and any utensils buried
with it, would undergo a like wonderful change. Possibly actual
observations of changes in the bodies of those long buried, their
partial disintegration in some cases, and their hardening in others, may
have given rise to the fancy that the stone receptacle in which they had
reposed was directly the cause of this, whether it implied destruction
or petrifaction.[4]
Of the substance named galactite, Pliny gives some details. He states
that it came from the Nile, was of the color and had the odor of milk,
and when moistened and scraped produced a juice resembling milk. The
liquid derived from the galactite when taken as a potion by nurses was
said to increase the flow of milk. If a galactite were bound to a
child’s arm the effect was to promote the secretion of saliva. To these
favorable effects must be added an unfavorable one, namely, loss of
memory, which was said to befall occasionally those who wore the stone.
A kind of “emerald with white veinings” was sometimes called galactite,
and another variety had alternate red and white stripes or veins.[5]
Perhaps this “emerald” was a variety of jade, or a banded jasper.
This so-called galactite, which enjoyed such an extraordinary reputation
in ancient and medieval times, is not, properly speaking, a stone, but a
nitrate of lime. The strange and famous relics of the Virgin preserved
in many old churches and called “the Virgin’s milk,” were merely
solutions of this nitrate. Possibly pieces of this so-called galactite
were sometimes found by pilgrims in the grotto of Bethlehem, and were
supposed to be petrified milk.[6] As everything in this sacred spot was
regarded as connected in some way with the miraculous birth of Christ,
it is easy to understand why the devout pilgrims came to believe that
the milky-hued substance represented the milk of the Virgin, which had
been preserved for future ages in this extraordinary way.
A kind of galactite, evidently a finely deposited form of carbonate of
lime and perhaps absorbent, is mentioned by Conrad Gesner.[7] This was
found on the Pilatus Mountain, Lake Lucerne, and is described by Gesner
as being a “fungous and friable” substance, white and exceedingly light
in weight. The natives called it _Mondmilch_ (moonmilk) and it was sold
in the pharmacies of Lucerne. The powder was used by physicians in the
treatment of ulcers, and, like all the other galactites, it was supposed
to increase the flow of milk and to develop the breasts. Besides this it
was credited with somniferous virtues.
An old Mohammedan tradition, cited by Ibn Kadho Shobah in his Tarik
al-Jafthi, relates that Noah, after the deluge, on setting out with the
members of his family to settle and populate the regions to the eastward
and northward of Mt. Ararat, confided to their care a miraculous stone
known to the Turks as _jiude-tash_, to the Persians as _senkideh_ and to
the Arabs as _hajer al-mathar_, or the “rain-stone.” On it was impressed
the word Aadhem or Aazem, the great name of God, by virtue of which
whosoever possessed this stone could cause rain to fall whenever he
pleased. In the long lapse of time this particular “precious” stone was
lost, but some of the Turks were said to have certain stones endowed
with a like power, and the more superstitious among these Turks solemnly
asseverated that their “rain-stones” could beget progeny by a mysterious
kind of generation.[8]
Among the many stones or concretions endowed by medieval belief with
wonderful powers, may be reckoned the “rain-making” stones. Some of
these were to be found in Karmania, south of Khorassan. The miraculous
effect was produced by rubbing one against another. The Arabic author
who reports this declares that this rain-making power was a well-known
fact. He adds that similar stones might be secured from near Toledo in
Spain and also in the “land of Kimar,” inhabited by Turkish tribes.[9]
The Oriental rain-stones noted by pseudo-Aristotle and by many other
Arabic writers of medieval times, can be paralleled by similar
rain-making or rain-inducing stones in many other parts of the world and
among many primitive peoples even in modern times. The rain-makers of
the African tribe of Wahumas, dwelling in the region bordering on the
great Albert Nyanza Lake in Central Africa, use a black stone in the
course of their magic rites. This is put into a vessel and water poured
over it; the pulverized roots of certain herbs and some blood drawn from
the veins of a black goat are then mixed with the water, and the
resulting liquid mixture is thrown up into the air by the
rain-maker.[10] The sorcerers among the Dieri in Central Australia place
such trust in the efficacy of these conjurations as to believe that all
rainfalls are produced thereby, generally through the intermediate
action of ancestral spirits. If rain falls in a locality where no
proceedings of the kind have taken place, then it is supposed that they
have been initiated in some contiguous territory, a merely spontaneous
and natural rainfall being out of the question. The clouds indeed
generate the rain, but it will not be brought to the earth except by
magic art. In the complicated magic ceremonies of these Dieri
rain-makers, two large stones are employed; after a ceremonial, in the
course of which the blood drawn from the two chief sorcerers is smeared
over the bodies of the others, the stones are borne away by these two
sorcerers for a distance of about twenty miles, and there put far up on
the highest tree that can be found, the object evidently being to bring
them as near to the clouds as possible.[11]
Rock-crystal as a rain-compeller finds honor among the wizards of the
Ta-ta-thi tribe in New South Wales, Australia. To bring down rain from
the sky one of them will break off a fragment from a crystal and cast it
heavenward, enwrapping the rest of the crystal in feathers. After
immersing these with their enclosure in water, and leaving them to soak
for a while, the whole is removed and buried in the earth, or hidden
away in some safe place.[12] The widely spread fancy that rock-crystal
is simply congealed water may have something to do with the choosing of
this stone as a rain-maker.
Sumatrans of Kota Gadanz use a stone whose form roughly resembles that
of a cat in their invocations of rain, a live black cat being supposed
in some parts of this island to have certain rain-producing virtues.[13]
Perhaps the electric fur of the animal may have suggested a connection
with thunder-storms. Stones of this type, indeed a great many of those
to which magic properties are attributed, are in many cases smeared with
the blood of fowls, or have incense offered to them, this treatment of
such stones being observed by the peasants in Scandinavia and other
parts of Europe as well as in the Far East.
Stone crosses have sometimes been utilized as rain-bringers, as in the
case of one belonging to St. Mary’s Church in the Island of Uist, one of
the outer Hebrides, off the Scottish coast. When drought prevailed here
the peasants would set up this cross which usually lay flat on the
ground, in the confident belief that rain would ensue. Of course, sooner
or later, it was sure to come, and then the cross, having done its duty,
was quietly replaced in its former horizontal position.[14]
A mysterious stone mentioned in Rabbinical legend is called the
_shamir_. This word occurs three times in the Old Testament (Jer. xvii,
1; Ezek. iii, 9; Zech. vii, 12), and in each signifies a material noted
for its hardness. In the first of these passages there is express
indication that the _shamir_ was a pointed object used for engraving,
and the word is translated “diamond” in our Bible; in the two other
cases it is rendered “adamant” and “adamantine stone,” respectively,
thus leaving the determination of the substance an open question.
However, as it is almost certain that the Hebrews were not familiar with
the diamond, _shamir_ most probably signifies one of the varieties of
corundum, the next hardest mineral to the diamond, and extensively used
in classic times for engraving on softer stones.
In the luxuriant growth of legend that sprang up in Rabbinical times,
the _shamir_ is not forgotten. It is said to have been the seventh of
the ten marvels created at the end of the sixth day of creation. In
size, it is described as being not larger than a barley-corn, but it had
the power to split up the hardest substances, if brought in contact with
them, or even in their neighborhood. Some of the legends ascribe to it
even more wonderful magic powers, so that, like Aladdin’s lamp, great
buildings could be constructed by its help, Solomon having used it in
the erection of the temple and other buildings. The etymology of the
word indicates a pointed object, similar to our diamond-point, but in
legend it is almost invariably described as a small worm, probably
because of a fancied connection between this word and another
designating a species of worm. Many have associated the Hebrew _shamir_
with the Greek σμίρις, or emery.
The Hebrew _shamir_ and the Greek ἀδάμας were both used metaphorically
of hardness of heart and implacability. The Hebrew prophet Zechariah
(vii, 12) says of the disobedient Jews that “they made their hearts as
an adamant stone” (_shamir_), and the Greek poet Theocritus (fl. 228
B.C.) calls Pluto, the god of the infernal regions, “the _adamas_ in
Hades.” This clearly shows that invincible hardness was the common
characteristic of the material designated by these words. However, it
appears probable that while _shamir_ signifies a form of corundum, the
word _adamas_, as used by the early Greek writers, denoted a hard,
metallic substance. Possibly, when iron first became known to the
Greeks, the adjective ἀδαμάντινος, “indomitable,” was applied to it, and
later the noun _adamas_ was formed from this adjective and was used by
the poets to signify an imaginary substance even harder than iron;
hence, when the diamond became known in Greek lands, its extreme
hardness suggested the application to it of this name.[15]
An Arab legend concerning the fabled _shamir_ stone is related by
Cazwini in his cosmography. When King Solomon set about building the
temple in Jerusalem, he commanded Satan to dress the stones that were to
be used, but the work was performed with such demoniac energy that the
people round about complained bitterly of the dreadful noise. To remedy
this trouble, Solomon sought the council of the leading scribes and also
that of the evil spirits known as Ifrites and Jinns. None of them,
however, was able to help him in this difficulty, but one of them
advised him to question an apostate named Sahr, who sometimes had
special knowledge of such things. When called upon for his opinion, Sahr
declared that he knew of a stone that would do the work required, but
did not know where it could be found; nevertheless he believed that, by
a stratagem, he could secure possession of it. He thereupon ordered that
an eagle’s nest with its eggs should be brought to him, and also a
bottle-shaped vessel made of very strong glass. Into this he slipped the
eggs, put them back into the nest, and had nest and eggs replaced where
they had been found. When the eagle returned to the nest it encountered
this obstacle. In vain it struck at the vessel with claws and beak;
after repeated efforts it flew away, but came back on the second day
holding a piece of stone in its beak, which it let fall upon the vessel,
breaking the latter into two halves without producing any sound. Upon
this, Solomon, who knew the language of beasts and birds, asked the
eagle where it had secured the stone. The bird answered: “O Prophet of
God, in a mountain in the West called the Samur Mountain.” This was
indication enough to the wise king who, summoning the Jinns to his aid,
soon had in Jerusalem a plentiful supply of these _samûr_, or _shamir_
stones, with which the work of shaping and polishing the blocks for the
temple was noiselessly performed.[16]
Full and precise directions are given by the old authorities as to the
proper way to secure possession of the stone called _corvia_. On the
Calends, or first day of April, eggs are to be taken out of a crow’s
nest and boiled until they are quite hard; they are then to be allowed
to cool off and are replaced in the nest. The female bird notes that the
eggs have been tampered with and flies away in search of the
corvia-stone. When she has found it, she bears it to the nest, and as
soon as it touches the eggs they become fresh and fertile again. This is
the auspicious moment for securing the stone, which must be quickly
taken from the nest else it would lose its virtue.[17] The lucky owner
of the stone is promised increase of wealth and honors, and the power to
read the future.
The fabled gem-bearing dragons of India were said to have sometimes
fallen victims to the enchanter’s art. Certain mystic characters were
woven in thread of gold upon a scarlet cloth, and this cloth was spread
by the hunters before the dragon’s den. When the creature emerged, his
eyes were fascinated by the strange letters in which the enchanter had
infused a wonderful soporific power. Hypnotized by the sight, the dragon
would fall into a deep slumber and the hunters would rush upon him and
sever his head from his body. Within the head were found gems of
brilliant hue, some of these possessing the power of rendering the
wearer invisible.[18]
The “Gem of Sovranty,” or the “Gem of the King of Kings,” may have been
a purely poetic Hindu fancy, or possibly may have been the diamond. Its
surpassing quality is emphasized by the declaration that though the
earth produced the sapphire, the cat’s-eye, the topaz, the ruby, and the
two mystic gems, the favorite of the sun, and the favorite of the moon,
the Gem of the King of Kings was acknowledged to be the chief of all
“for the sheen of that jewel spreads round about for a league on every
side.” To King Milinda the following question was put: “Suppose that on
the disappearance of a sovran overlord, the mystic Gem of Sovranty lay
concealed in a cleft on the mountain peak, and that on another sovran
overlord arriving at the supreme dignity it should appear to him, would
you say, O King, that the gem was produced by him?” “Certainly not,
sir,” replied the monarch, “the gem would be in its original condition.
But it had received, as it were, a new birth through him.”[19]
The Arabian author, Ibn Al-Beithar (b. ca. 1197 A.D.), describes a stone
called in Arabic _hajer al-kelb_, or “dog-stone.” These stones had such
attraction for dogs of a certain breed that when cast before them they
would snap them up, bite them, and hold them in their jaws. The
magicians saw in this a proof that the stones would produce enmity and
ill-will among men. Having selected seven such stones they marked them
with the names of any persons between whom they wished to stir up
strife. The seven stones were then thrown one by one before a dog of the
requisite species, and, after he had bitten them, two were chosen and
were placed in water of which the persons who were to be set at variance
were sure to drink. We are assured that the experiment had the desired
evil result.[20]
In ancient times there was found in the river Meander a stone
satirically named _sophron_, “temperate.” If it were placed upon the
breast of any one, he immediately became enraged and killed one of his
parents; however, after having appeased the Mother of the Gods, he was
cured of his temporary madness.[21]
A most singular stone is described by Thomas de Cantimpré under the name
of “piropholos.” This substance, according to Konrad von Megenberg’s
version, was taken from the heart of a man who had been poisoned,
“because the heart of such a man cannot be burned in fire.” If the heart
were kept for nine years in fire this wonderful stone was produced. It
gave protection from lightning, but its principal virtue was to guard
the wearer from sudden death; indeed, we are told that a man could not
die so long as he held this stone in his hand. However, it did not
preserve him from disease, but only prolonged his life. The stone was
said to be of a light and bright red color.[22]
After enumerating all the well-known precious stones, Volmar, in his
“Steinbuch,” proceeds to relate that there is one which produces
blindness, another that enables the wearer to understand the language of
birds, still another that saves people from drowning, and, finally, one
of such sovereign power that it brings back the dead to life. However,
we are told that because of the miraculous virtues of these stones God
hides them so well that no man can obtain them.[23] About a century
earlier Saint Hildegard of Bingen wrote that “just as a poisonous herb
placed on a man’s skin will produce ulceration,” by an analogous though
contrary effect “certain precious stones will, if placed on the skin,
confer health and sanity by their virtue.”[24]
Persian records tell of a “royal stone” found in the head of the _ouren
bad_, a kind of eagle; this preserved the wearer from the attacks of
venomous reptiles. If a deadly poison had been administered to a person,
he would be immediately cured by taking one drachm’s weight of the
stone. It thus appears that its virtues were those of the far-famed
bezoar.[25] Persia evidently had good store of “wonderworkers” of this
kind, for the Persian romance entitled “Hatim Tai and the Benevolent
Lady,” written about the beginning of the eighteenth century, recites
the marvellous virtue of a stone called the _Shah-muhra_. If this were
fastened on the arm the wearer became endowed with miraculous vision and
all the gold and precious stones beneath the earth’s surface were
revealed to him.[26]
For ten centuries or more, countless thousands, although feeling assured
of spiritual immortality, were none the less eager to have eternal youth
and vigor and the power to peer into the future. Hence Ponce de Leon’s
quest for the “Fountain of Youth” in our Florida. But in addition to
this, there has ever been an intense desire to find something by means
of which gold could be made out of the baser metals, for youth and
vigor, if coupled with poverty, are only half-blessings. The search for
the “Philosopher’s Stone” appears to have been a more or less aimless
pursuit of this end; but there can be no doubt that this search led to
the discovery of many new substances and reactions, and helped to lay
the foundation of our modern chemistry. Whether the conscious aim of the
alchemist was the discovery of an actual stone, or merely the discovery
of some process for turning a valueless substance into one of great
value, is not clearly ascertainable from the purposely vague and obscure
treatises on alchemy.
The “Philosopher’s Stone,” the fond dream of so many who delved into
nature’s mysteries in the past, does not seem so improbable to-day as it
did twenty years ago. The recent discovery of the element radium, which
is produced from the element uranium, and the story of the strange and
protean changes of radium into helium, neon and argon, according to the
environment in which it is placed, have given the death-blow to the old
idea of the immutability of the elements. Still, while we have been
allowed this peep into the storehouse of nature’s secrets, and are
growing to believe that in eons of time the various different elements
may have been evolved, successively, from one another, the power to
provoke this change at will and in a brief space of time is as yet
withheld from us, and may never be given to us, just as little as the
power to send messages to the distant spheres, whose bulk, density and
composition we can estimate with a considerable degree of accuracy.
Numerous specimens still exist of what is alleged to be artificial gold
made by the alchemists of a past age. Of all these the most striking is
a large medallion, bearing in relief the heads of Emperor Leopold and
his ancestors of the House of Hapsburg. It is related that on the name
day of the emperor in 1677, this medallion, originally of silver and
weighing 7250 grains, was transmuted into gold by Wenzel Seiler, a noted
alchemist of that time. This wonder was performed in full view of the
emperor and his courtiers, by dipping the medallion in a solution. As
there are four notches on the edge, it has been conjectured that these
were made to secure material for testing the quality of the transformed
metal. However, the simple test of specific gravity shows that the metal
cannot be gold, for according to Bauer’s calculation made in 1883, the
medallion has a specific gravity of 12.67, between that of silver (10.5)
and that of gold (19.27). This might indicate that in some unexplained
way the alchemist had succeeded in precipitating a coating of gold upon
the face of the object. It seems probable that the deception was soon
discovered, for Seiler, who had been knighted on September 16, 1676, was
exiled by order of Emperor Leopold, not long after the date on which the
supposed transmutation is said to have taken place.
An exceedingly rare medal, and one of great interest to students of
alchemy, was struck in 1647 by order of Emperor Ferdinand III from gold
produced in his presence by Johann Peter Hofmann, a master of the
alchemical art. A specimen of this medal is in the Imperial Cabinet of
Coins in Vienna.[27] On the obverse, around two shields, one bearing
eight fleurs-de-lis and the other the figure of a lion, are two hermetic
inscriptions: LILIA CUM NIVEO COPULANTUR FULVA LEONE (yellow lilies lie
down with the snow-white lion), and SIC LEO MANSUESCET SIC LILIA FULVA
VIRESCENT (thus will the lion be tamed and thus will the yellow lilies
flourish). Around a crown surmounting the two shields appear the initial
letters I. P. H. V. N. F., indicating Latin words the sense of which is
“Johannes Petrus Hofmann a Nurembergian subject made it,” and also the
letters T G V L, intended to signify _tinturæ guttæ v. libram_, or “five
drops of the tincture [transmuted] a pound.” The reverse has Latin words
denoting that iron was the base of this tincture, the symbols used for
lead, tin, copper, mercury, silver and gold being each accompanied by a
cryptic declaration that Mars (iron) had controlled the respective
metal.[28]
Besides the “Philosopher’s Stone,” the chief object of their quest, the
alchemists believed that several other stones possessing magic virtues
could be produced. Among these was the “angelical stone,” which gave
power to see the angels in dreams and visions, and also the “mineral
stone,” a substance by means of which common flints could be transmuted
into diamonds, rubies, sapphires, emeralds, etc.[29] Possibly some
alchemists were glass-makers, and fused the quartz with various mineral
salts into imitations of the gems, having the colors, but not the
hardness or other properties.
One of the strangest fancies as to the medicinal efficacy of stones is
that held by the native Australians, who believe that “crystals” are
embedded in the bodies of their medicine-men. This belief is encouraged
by the medicine-men themselves; indeed, they are supposed only to retain
their power so long as these _atnongara_ or _ultunda_ stones remain in
their bodies, and a share of their might can be transmitted by
transferring certain of the stones from their own bodies to that of
another. The ceremony proceeds as follows:[30]
The Nung-gara [medicine-men] then withdrew from their bodies a number
of small clear crystals called Ultunda which were placed one by one,
as they were extracted, in the hollow of a spear-thrower. When a
sufficient number had been withdrawn, the Nung-gara directed the man
who had come with them to clasp the candidate from behind and to hold
him tightly. Then each of them picked up some crystals, and taking
hold of a leg, gripped the stones firmly and pressed them slowly and
strongly along the front of the leg and then up the body as high as
the breast-bone. This was repeated three times, the skin being scored
at intervals with scratches, from which blood flowed. By this means
the magic crystals are supposed to be forced into the body of the
man.... After which each of them pressed a crystal on the head of the
novice and struck it hard, the idea being to drive it into the skull,
the scalp being made to bleed during the process....
One of the Nung-gara then withdrew from his skull just behind his ear
(that is, he told the novice that he kept it there) a thin and sharp
Ultunda, and taking up some dust from the ground, dried the man’s
tongue with it, and then, pulling it out as far as possible, he made
with the stone an incision almost half an inch in length.
The _mesticas_ of the Malays represent a class of stones differing in
important respects from the various types of bezoars. A principal
distinction is that the _mesticas_ are not supposed to owe their origin
to pathological conditions in the organism wherein they occur, but
rather to a superabundance of the normal and healthy constituents of the
animal or plant. It is probably due to this that the virtues of these
particular concretions are rather talismanic than therapeutic, and that
they are believed to endow the finder, or one who receives them by gift,
with courage, immunity from injury, and also with cunning and shrewdness
in the affairs of life. Especially by warriors are these stones highly
valued, for they are supposed to protect the wearer from wounds; indeed,
this belief sometimes went so far as to lead the Malays to think that
absolute invulnerability was conferred on one who carried several of
them bound so closely to the skin that in some cases they even
penetrated the flesh. The typical _mestica_ is described as a hard
stone, brilliant but seldom transparent; it is found in the flesh or
fat, in the heart or on the legs of animals, and also sometimes in
plants.[31]
Rumphius declares that many extraordinary cases were related of warriors
who could not be injured by any weapons until the _mestica_ had been cut
out of their flesh, wherein it had become embedded. Indeed, he states
that Dutch officers of proved veracity had confidently asserted that
they had encountered such men among their native antagonists. While
Rumphius feels himself therefore forced to admit the truth of the
invulnerability of these men, he hastens to add that such powers could
not be inherent in any piece of stone, but must owe their origin to
diabolical agencies.[32] The fact that the Mohammedans had their
_mesticas_ blessed by the priests of their faith, and burned incense
beneath them on Fridays, the Mohammedan equivalent of the Christian
Sunday, did not probably shake the belief of Rumphius that the Devil had
something to do with these substances.
The medicine-men of the Kainugá Indians of Paraguay mutter incantations
over the bodies of the sick, and then, after many struggles and
contortions, proceed to extract stones from their mouths, claiming that
they have taken the patient’s disease into their own bodies, the stones
being regarded as the seat of the ailment. In one case, the medicine-man
produced five of these stones before the patient admitted that his pain
was relieved. After the cure was completed the sorcerer was clever
enough to feign extreme exhaustion, as though his vital forces had been
subjected to a tremendous strain.[33]
[Illustration:
INDIAN MEDICINE-MEN
From “Histoire Générale des Cérémonies Religieuses de tous les Peuples
du Monde,” by Abbé Banier and Abbé Mascrier, Paris, 1741.
]
In British New Guinea similar tactics are resorted to by the native
doctors. A native who was suffering from lumbago fully believed the tale
that his disease was caused by a stone embedded in his flesh. When the
sorcerer made passes over this man’s back and then exhibited a stone
which he pretended to have taken thence, the sufferer was convinced that
the disease had left his body, and he began to feel relief. When
examined, his back showed some superficial cuts at the spot where the
stone was said to have been extracted. In another case, however, when a
child was to be operated upon in a like way, the child’s father became
suspicious and seized the operator’s hands before they came into contact
with the little one’s body; the result being that the disease-laden
stone was found concealed in the operator’s hand.[34]
Pebble-mania or lithomania is an inherent trait in all mankind. From the
most primitive man to the most modern, especially those of optimistic
and investigating tendencies, this trait is present in a greater or
lesser degree. That is, curious people would collect pebbles for their
bright colors, or markings, for their transparency or translucence, and
those of an investigating turn of mind, under the impression that the
find was perhaps a diamond or a gem of some kind. In modern times this
kind of collecting has developed into a regular industry, pebbles found
on the shores of the United States and which are either pure white,
transparent or translucent quartz, being cut and offered for sale. These
pebbles are gathered, and are valuable to those who make a business of
selling them, because the white opaque pebbles become translucent after
cutting, or rather, during the process of cutting, and they are then
passed off for moonstones, which are worth from one-third to one-half
more than the cost of cutting the quartz pebbles, the purchaser being
led to believe that he is getting a moonstone, although this could not
be possible, since moonstones have never been found on either the
eastern or the western coast of the United States. As for the cut
moonstones which are brought back by the tourist, under the impression
that he is getting native material and workmanship, these all come from
Europe.
Pebble-mania is not confined to mankind alone. Birds and animals possess
it. The magpie picks up and hides away bright objects, including odd
pebbles, or carries them to its nest. The stones known as _ætites_ were
said to be found in eagles’ nests, although they may have been swallowed
by the birds for digestive purposes, just as the hen’s crop is full of
stones, many of them being transparent, a proof that the fowl had been
attracted by them, and had swallowed these in preference to other,
duller ones. Notable instances of transparent pebbles are the
_alectorii_, or “cock-stones.”
The great Italian goldsmith and sculptor, Benvenuto Cellini (1500–1574),
relates that when a youth he often shot cranes with his arquebuse, and
that in several instances he found in their entrails not only fine
turquoises, but also fragments of the so-called plasma-emerald and even
occasionally small pearls. This serves to indicate that the pretty
exterior of such objects exerted an influence upon these birds in some
degree analogous to the impressions aroused in mankind on viewing
them.[35]
In seventeenth century Denmark there seems to have been no lack of
“magic stones,” for it is related that one day as King Christian II was
strolling along the beach, he picked up a shining pebble by the aid of
which he could render himself invisible at will. Similar power was said
to exist in stones that could be found in ant-hills if hot water were
thrown onto them on St. Walpurgis Day, or St. Hans’ Day. The Danes of
the time also shared in the belief that the stone from the lapwing
preserved from illness and sorrow as did the “swallow’s-stone” as
well.[36]