Chapter V: Front Matter (5)

In Ireland the prehistoric stone arrow-head is believed to have been shot at man or beast by the fairies. Should an old woman be so lucky as to find one she will become highly honored in her village, and it is used as a cure for diseases produced by the wiles of evil spirits. To effect a cure, the _saigead_ (“arrow”) must be placed in water, which is then given to the sick person to drink.[214] Cows which have been wounded by the “fairy-darts” are also made to drink of this water. The Irish peasants wore the stone arrow-heads, set in silver, as amulets for protection against injury from like weapons at the hands of the fairies. Similar superstitions exist in the North of England.[215] Nilsson believes that the “elf-shots” (the arrow-points or axe-points) of the Irish peasantry are identical with the “Lap-shots” of the Swedish peasantry. These stones were thought to have belonged to the Laplanders, the “black elves” of the Edda, and were therefore used as a protection against the witcheries of these elves. The idea that the substance or thing that has caused an injury can effect a cure of this injury, appears in the Edda.[216]

The shepherds in the French Alps value the “thunder-stones” (_peyros de tron_) very highly. They are handed down from father to son as precious heirlooms, and when the flocks are driven to the pasturage, one of these wonder-working stones is embedded in a tuft of wool on the back of the bell-wether; this is supposed to serve as a protection for the whole flock.[217] In Spain the peasants call these stones _piedros del rayo_, or “lightning-stones.”[218]

The names bestowed on such prehistoric stone implements by the inhabitants of the Malay Archipelago, of Java and Sumatra, all indicate that they are believed to have fallen from the sky. In Malacca they are called _batu gontur_, “lightning-stones,” and in Sumatra we have the name _anakpitas_, “child of the lightning.” In the island of Nias, near Sumatra, they are worn as amulets on the head or attached to the sword. The Watubela islanders denominate them “teeth of the thunder,” a name which suggests the appellation glossopetra (“stone-tongue”), and like this is evidently derived from the form of certain of these prehistoric celts.[219]

The Burmans have given the highly poetic name of “rainbow-disease” to the disorder known to us as appendicitis, and they use the axe-heads and other pointed or sharpened arrow-heads of the Stone Age for the cure of this malady, stroking the region affected with one of these implements. The natives share in the delusion almost universal among primitive peoples, that these stone implements have fallen from the sky during thunder-storms, and that they partake of the nature of thunderbolts; hence they are supposed to destroy the rainbow-disease, as the approach of heavy storm clouds, charged with lightning, darken the sun and put an end to the beautiful natural phenomenon.

In the island of Mindanao, one of the Philippine group, the heathen Manobos called the thunder the “speech of the lightning,” and regarded the latter as a kind of wild animal, so that whenever the lightning struck the earth or a tree they believed that the animal had buried its teeth in the spot. They therefore looked upon any stone implement found there as one of these teeth.[220]

The ancient stone hammers found in Japan are called _rai fu seki_, “thunderbolts,” or _tengu no masakari_, “battle-axes of Tengu,” the warder of the heavens. Other stone implements bear the name “fox-axes,” or “fox-planes.” These peculiar designations are employed because the fox is a symbol of the devil, and the stone axes are regarded as weapons of the devil. Of course this in no wise prevents their use as amulets or medicinally; indeed, their powder is thought to be an especially effective remedy for boils and ulcers. Many such stones may be seen in the temples, where they are carefully preserved and shown to the pilgrims who visit the different shrines.[221]

Even at the present day, the superstitious belief in the magic properties of the prehistoric stone implements still survives among some of the Scandinavian peasants. They believe that these offer protection against lightning, and they are very unwilling to part with them. In some regions the stone axes or arrow-heads are supposed to afford protection against lightning, and they are occasionally used to relieve the pangs of childbirth. In the latter case they are placed in the bed of the suffering woman. Another curious use to which they are put is as a cure for an eruptive disease of children. Here the flint is struck sharply with a piece of steel, so that the sparks fall upon the child’s head.[222] This gives us an added proof of the association of these stone axes, etc., with fire and with the lightning flash.

The Burmese celts or stone hatchets are frequently of jade and differ from those usually met with in Europe and India, in that they are provided with a chisel-edge instead of a double-sloped cutting edge. An interesting account of the superstitions connected with these implements is given by Mr. Theobald,[223] from whom we quote the following passage. It will be noted that the Burmese ideas are in almost exact accord with those current in Europe.

The Burmese call these implements _mo-jio_, thunder-chain or
thunderbolt, and believe that they descend with the lightning flash,
and, after penetrating the earth, work their way back by degrees to
the surface, where they are found scattered about the fields among the
lower hills, usually after rain, or on removing the crops. The true
_mo-jio_ is supposed to possess many occult virtues, and it is not
common to find one which does not show signs of having been chipped or
scraped for medicinal purposes.

One of the chief virtues of the _mo-jio_ is to render the person of
the wearer invulnerable; and many an unlucky _mo-jio_ has succumbed to
the popular test, which is to wrap it in a cloth and fire a bullet at
it at short range. If the man misses the cloth, the authenticity and
power of the charm is at once established; if the stone is fractured
it is held not to be a real _mo-jio_.

Fire will not consume a house which contains one, though I never heard
of this ordeal being attempted. Last but not least is the known fact
that the owner of a real _mo-jio_ can cut a rainbow in half with it.

Certain recent happenings have suggested that the name “aviator-stone” would be a peculiarly appropriate designation for meteorites, and indeed this new name would only serve to emphasize the legendary belief, that he who bore with him a meteorite when he was in deadly peril would escape all injury. By a strange coincidence those who are willing to take great risks and chances are generally more or less superstitious regarding small things, and a daring aviator recently remarked that on one occasion, when his machine had suddenly fallen fifty feet, he felt for his tie and said to himself: “This accident has happened because I forgot to put on my opal pin, but I have been saved from injury because I carried a meteorite.” This aviator, having mentioned the incident to Harmon, a few minutes before the latter made his successful attempt to win the Doubleday-Page aviation prize, Harmon immediately took the meteorite which had been shown to him, saying: “Let me have it.” He accomplished his task, and although both the competing machines were injured, the aviators themselves were saved.

A meteorite, of course, cannot be claimed to be a preventive of danger on all occasions, but several who have always carried them have seemed to escape all sorts of harm. Some years ago a meteorite was given to Edward Heron Allen, the famous writer on palmistry and the violin, and this gifted man always wore it about him. One morning he awakened to find that the entire roof above him had fallen in, except just that portion over his bed. He told the story to one of the best known ladies in Boston; one who is known for her public spirit, her love of art and her faultless manner of entertaining. This lady successfully urged Allen to give her the meteorite. A few days later, while out driving, a great truck with two runaway horses attached to it struck her carriage. Instinctively she raised her muff to protect her face; the muff was almost cut in two, but the lady was not hurt. A few days later, while she was walking under some scaffolding, it fell, and the open part where the hoists went up proved to be just where she stood. Although surrounded by ruin, she remained unharmed.

III
Stones of Healing

In his commentary on Theophrastus, Sir John Hill touches upon the question of the medicinal virtues of precious stones. His researches regarding the causes and conditions determining color in stones, led him to the conjecture that the active principle, if it really existed, was to be sought in the coloring matter. As the opinion of a very clever student in his day, his words will bear quotation:[224]

The greatest part of these [medicinal virtues] cannot but be seen at
first view to be altogether imaginary; and as to the virtues of the
Gems in general, it is now the reigning Opinion, that they are nearly
all so, their greatest Friends allowing them no other than those of
the common alkaline Absorbents. However, whether the metalline
Particles, to which they owe their Colours, are, in either Quantity or
Quality, in Condition to have any effect in the Body, is a Matter
worthy of a strict and regular Tryal; and that would at once decide
the Question between us and the Antients, and shew whether we have
been too rash, or they too superstitious.

The so-called “doctrine of signatures” treated of the marks set by nature upon certain objects to denote their usefulness in the cure of diseases affecting different parts of the body, or their power to neutralize the effects of the bites of certain animals or reptiles. Of this theory Martius says that the “signatures” are not to be sought in a fanciful resemblance to the form of the objects with the diseased parts of the human body, but rather in the color, odor, taste, composition, etc., of the objects.[225]

Medieval medical literature has no more interesting example than the treatise entitled “Thesaurus Pauperum,” or the “Poor-man’s Treasury,” written by Petrus Hispanus, who later reigned for a brief period as pope under the name of John XXI (1276–1277). The birthplace of the author was Lisbon in Portugal, and he studied for some time at the University of Paris, where his learning earned him high praise. Prior to his election as pope, he served for a time as first physician to Pope Gregory X (1271–1276). Most of the remedies prescribed in this little treatise are naturally such as had long been popular among the peasantry, and the ingredients of which could easily be secured; vegetable growths, plants, herbs and flowers, and certain parts of the more common animals, served here, as in Pliny’s day and earlier still, as those most highly favored. Of the comparatively few mineral substances whose use is recommended may be noted the red variety of _chelidonius_ or “swallow-stone,” for the cure of epilepsy; the powder of the “iris” (probably an iridescent variety of quartz) was also a cure for epileptics. Then we find, strange to say, a recommendation of such costly remedial agencies as emerald and sapphire, either of which if touched on the eye would heal diseases of that organ. Cold stones placed on the temples and tightly bound on were said to arrest bleeding from the nose, and coral was a great help in syncope. For stone in the bladder two mineral substances, “humus” and “songie,” are warmly recommended (the former can scarcely be held to signify mere “soil”), as are also “stones found in the gizzards of cocks” (the _alectorius_) and those from the bladders of hogs. All these were to be reduced to powder, dissolved in liquid, and taken in the form of potions. The use of stones and coral rather as amulets or talismans than as remedies is occasionally mentioned. Thus the loadstone, if worn, is said to remove discord between man and woman; coral, if kept in the house, destroyed all evil influences, and if a woman wore touching her skin a concretion taken from the stomach of a she-goat that had not had young, this woman would never bear a child.[226]

The curious old medical treatise in verse called the “Schola Salernitana,” was translated into English by Sir James Harington in 1607. The following lines give advice that is as appropriate to the conditions of our own age as to those of any other:[227]

Use three physitians still, first doctor Quiet,
Next doctor Merry-man and doctor Dyet.

Whether with or without intention, the translator has omitted to render the qualification given in the original: “Si tibi deficiant medici” (if other doctors are lacking).

The terrible plague known as the Black Death is said to have claimed 13,000,000 victims in Europe in the years 1347 and 1348. A contemporary, Olivier de la Haye, in a poem describing this fearful visitation, gives a number of recipes used, or to be used as remedies. In one of these there appear as ingredients pearls, jargoons, emeralds and coral, one-sixth of a drachm of each of these materials entering into the composition of the prescription.[228] The symptoms of this form of the plague, as described by the old writers, are said to resemble closely those of the disease that was prevalent not long ago in some parts of Asia, especially in northern China and Manchuria.

A famous class of medical remedies used in medieval times bore the generic name _theriaca_, or theriac, this designation being derived from the Greek _therion_, signifying a beast, more specifically a poisonous animal and hence also a serpent. These preparations were primarily antidotes for poison, but were also freely administered for any form of “blood-poisoning,” for malarial infection, malignant fevers and the like. Principal ingredients were the “Armenian stone” (a friable, blue carbonate of copper), pearls, charred stag’s-horn, and coral. The Veronese physician, Francesco India, confidently affirms that this remedy not only cured the plague, but also protected those who had partaken of it from contracting the disease; this was said to be more especially true of the _theriaca Andromachi_, or Venice treacle as it was popularly called, which purported to be the invention of a Roman or Greek physician, Andromachus, who composed some medical poems dedicated to Cæsar.[229]

In medieval Bohemia the knowledge of precious stones and their employment for curative purposes is well attested. There exists a Bohemian manuscript list of precious stones dated in 1391, in which no less than 55 different gems are noted. Their medicinal use in Bohemia at this time is vouched for by the Synonima Apothecariorum where precious stones are listed among the materials of the apothecaries’ art.[230]

In the testaments of royal and princely personages, medical stones are often bestowed as precious legacies. Thus in the will of the Hessian prince, Henry VIII of Fürstenberg, the following stones are mentioned as especially costly objects: a “crabstone” (Krebstein), a bloodstone, and a gravel-stone, the latter being a piece of jade or nephrite.[231] The crabstone, sometimes called crab’s-eye, is a chalky concretion which forms on either side of the stomach of a crab or other crustacean during the moulting period, and this was and is still used as an eye-stone for the removing of foreign bodies that have entered the eye, the eye-stone being introduced under the eyelid. This results in a rapid flow from the tear-ducts which often washes away the foreign bodies, the passage of the stone across the eyeball occasionally aiding in the work by rubbing off the body.

Interior of fifteenth century pharmacy. From Johannis de Cuba’s “Ortus
Sanitatis”, Strassburg, 1483.
]

THE “ORTUS SANITATIS” OF JOHANNIS DE CUBA, PUBLISHED AT STRASSBURG IN
1483.

The woodcut depicts Adam and Eve beneath the “Tree of Knowledge.”
]

In the sixteenth century sapphires, emeralds, rubies, garnets, jacinths, coral and sardonyxes were used in all tonics prescribed to protect the heart against the effects of poison and of the plague. As it was noted that these remedies were frequently ineffectual, an explanation was sought in the fact that spurious stones were often used, the apothecaries either not having the knowledge to recognize the genuine stones, or being moved by a desire to profit by the substitution of some inferior substance. Hence physicians were warned to be on their guard against such deceptions, and only to employ thoroughly trustworthy apothecaries for the compounding of their prescriptions. A substitution frequently made was that of the so-called yellow chrysoprase (cerogate), a stained chalcedony, for the jacinth, although the true jacinth of the ancients was of the color of the amethyst. The grinding of coral in a brass mortar, instead of in one of marble, was also regarded as a very dangerous proceeding, which would have the worst possible results for the unlucky patient who took the powder, for some particles of the brass might be rubbed away and mix with the coral. This was said to have often produced very serious illness.[232]

In a price-list of a firm of German druggists, printed in 1757, all the precious stones still appear. Here the cost of a pound of rock-crystal is six groschen ($.18); the same quantity of emerald was priced at eight groschen ($.25), while the pound of sapphire was quoted at sixteen groschen ($.50), of ruby at one thaler ($.75), and of lapis lazuli at five thalers ($3.75). This indicates quite clearly the quality of the emerald, sapphire and ruby offered for sale. A pound of Oriental bezoar commanded the highest price, sixteen thalers ($12).[233]

Regarding the length of time during which various preparations retained their strength, Braunfels[234] states that, according to the opinion of the Arabian physicians, the solution of lapis Armenus lasted for ten years, while that of lapis lazuli could be preserved only about three years. A list of the indispensable materials which should be in every good pharmacy included the following precious stones:

Jacinth
Sapphire
Emerald
Topaz
Margaritha (pearl)
Magnes
Coral
Hematite
Ætites
Jasper

The supposed medicinal properties of precious stones are subjected to a searching criticism by the Veronese physician, Francesco India, writing in 1593.[235] After establishing the distinction between alimentary and medicinal substances, he proceeds to exclude from the latter category the jacinth, emerald, sapphire, etc., because although they could be reduced to a powder, they could not be dissolved, so that when taken in a potion they could be absorbed in the human system.[236] Hence no such effects could properly be ascribed to them as were to be expected from the regular and normal medicinal agencies. This writer ascribes the original use of such stones as remedies for malignant fevers and other dangerous diseases to the Arabs, adding that “had they not made this mistake and thus led many physicians into error, they would have been better worthy of praise.”[234] In fact he does not hesitate to pronounce the emphatic opinion that these stones are not remedial agents fit to be administered or used by any rational physician.[237] That powdered hematite (red oxide of iron) possesses an astringent quality and may really be looked upon as a medicine, he fully recognizes, more particularly its efficacy for the cure of diseases of the eye, but neither these nor similar qualities can be credited to sapphires, emeralds, or jacinths. At the same time he is not disposed to deny that these stones may have some subtle effect upon the body when worn, or when held in the mouth for a time. Thus he agrees with Avicenna (Ben Sina) that a jacinth worn over the heart may strengthen that organ, for he knows of the power inherent in jasper to check a hemorrhage. In a word his argument is principally directed against the internal use of powders made from these hard and unassimilable stones.[238]

Robert Boyle, writing in 1663, attempts to show that the theory of the therapeutic action of precious stones is not incompatible with observed facts. In this connection he says:[239]

I am not altogether of their mind, that absolutely reject the internal
use of Leaf-Gold, Rubies, Saphyrs, Emeralds, and other Gems, as things
that are unconquerable by the heat of the stomach. For as there are
rich Patients that may, without much inconvenience, goe to the price
of the dearest Medicines; so I think the Stomach acts not on Medicines
barely upon the account of its heat, but is endowed with a subtle
dissolvent (whence never it hath it) by which it may perform divers
things not to be done by so languid a heat. And I have, with Liquors
of differing sorts, easily drawn from Vegetable Substances, and
perhaps unrectified, sometimes dissolved, and sometimes drawn
Tinctures from Gems, and that in the cold.... But that which I chiefly
consider on this occasion is, that ’tis one thing to make it
_probable_, that is, _possible_, Gold, Rubies, Saphyrs, etc., may be
wrought upon by humane Stomach; and another thing to shew both that
they _are wont_ to be so, and that they _are_ actually endowed with
those particular and specifick Virtues that are ascribed to them; nay
and (over and above) that these Virtues are such and so eminent, that
they considerably surpass those of cheaper Simples. And I think, that
in Prescriptions made for the poorer sort of Patients, a Physician may
well substitute cheaper Ingredients in the place of these precious
ones, whose Virtues are no half so unquestionable as their Dearnesse.

Whether the somewhat mysterious illness and death of the popes Leo IV and Paul II could have been caused by the great quantity of pearls and precious stones they were in the habit of wearing was a question seriously discussed by Johann Wolff, the supposed lethal effect being attributed to the coldness of such objects.[240] Indeed, the frigidity of precious stones was adduced by certain writers as one of the chief reasons for their remedial use in fevers.[241]

Not only to King Frederick III of Denmark himself, to whom on his death-bed in 1670, a dose of pulverized bezoar was administered, but to his queen and their children such remedies were given, there being record that on September 19, 1663, a prescription containing red coral and pearl-powder was compounded by the Court Pharmacy for the queen, while a few years earlier the inevitable bezoar and also a tonic pearl-milk were administered to some of the royal offspring.[242]

FAMOUS PEARL NECKLACE OF THE UNFORTUNATE EMPRESS CARLOTTA, WIDOW OF
EMPEROR MAXIMILIAN OF MEXICO.
]

Some interesting details as to the use of precious stone remedies for the cure of illness appear in the manuscript notes of lectures given at the Leyden Hospital by the seventeenth century physician, Lucas Schacht, in 1674 and 1675.[243] This shows that these remedial agents were there and at that time only used as a last resort, when the patient’s condition had become desperate, and the physician is usually obliged to record the fact that death ensued shortly afterwards. Thus we are told of the case of a certain Ludovicus Carels who was suffering from difficulty of breathing and purulent expectoration; his body was so distended that he could scarcely move his limbs, and he also had a severe diarrhœa. This was his condition on November 12, 1674, and the symptoms steadily grew worse under a treatment of herb decoctions, until a few days later, on November 21, it is noted that “he only thinks of death.” Still the doctors waited until November 24 before they decided to administer a compound remedy consisting in part of the elixirs of jacinth and pearl; three days later the patient died. In general the chief symptoms which justified the use of such remedies were those of high fever or great weakness.

Although by the middle of the eighteenth century the belief in the special curative powers of precious-stone material had almost entirely disappeared, giving place to a more scientific conception of the chemical composition of these bodies, still, we find, even in so capable a writer as the German mineralogist, U. F. B. Brückmann, a lingering trace of the old idea, for while he declares that all intelligent physicians have abandoned their use, he adds, “if, however, any stone of this kind has more effect than an ordinary earthy substance, it is the lapis lazuli, but we have a hundred other remedies equally efficacious and much cheaper.” He also testifies to the fact that very little genuine material was to be had from the apothecaries, he himself having often seen a yellow feldspar offered instead of a jacinth, and poor garnets as substitutes for rubies.[244]

Toward the end of the eighteenth century, a famous cordial medicine, called “Gascoign’s Powder,” after the physician who compounded it, had an immense vogue in England. This man is said to have got more than £50,000 ($250,000) from the sale of this single remedy. It is stated to have contained Oriental bezoar (the most important ingredient), white amber, red coral, crab’s eyes, powdered hartshorn, pearl and black crab’s claws; certainly a most incongruous mixture and one well calculated to test the resisting powers of the person to whom it was administered.[245]

A modern writer finds in the homeopathic theory of medicine an explanation of the apparent therapeutic effects of precious stones.[246] For if the smaller the dose the greater the effect, then such super-subtle emanations as are thought to proceed from precious stones must have effects still more powerful than those of the most highly diluted tinctures administered by homeopathists of the old school. Christian Science, however, with its bold denial of the existence of disease, and with its purely spiritual treatment of the “mental error” that is supposed to be at the root of all morbid symptoms, could even more easily account for the apparent cures wrought by merely wearing precious stones. The belief in their remedial virtue would serve to remove the morbid impression, and would restore the mind to its normal and healthy state.

An instance from our own day of the application of a mineral substance externally for the cure of disease, appears in the use of the uranium pitchblende occurring in Joachimsthal, Bohemia. This is enclosed in leather bags and applied to the head for the cure of headache. The most violent pains are said to be relieved in a short time by this treatment, the effect being produced by the radium contained in the pitchblende.[247]

Agate

Treating of the medicinal virtues of agates, Pliny distinguishes between the Indian agates, which were a remedy for diseases of the eyes, and those from Egypt and Crete, which were especially adapted for curing the bites of spiders or scorpions.[248] This latter quality was probably attributed to the agate because it was believed to have a cooling influence upon the body. Damigeron directs that when used to cure the bites of venomous creatures the stone should be reduced to a powder, which was to be strewn over the wound; sometimes, however, this powder was dissolved in wine and administered internally.[249] As an agate, if held in the mouth, was supposed to quench thirst, it was recommended at an early period for the cure of fevers and inflammatory diseases.[250]

In Byzantine times the use of agate for inflamed eyes and for headaches is still advised by Psellus (eleventh century), who adds that it checks menstruation and prevents the accumulation of water in cases of dropsy. This he attributes to the wonderful absorbent power of the stone.[251] It seems most probable that here some kind of hydrophane has been confounded with the agate. The other use, that of checking hemorrhages, presupposes the use of a red variety of agate.

Beryl

Thomas de Cantimpré[252] tells us that the beryl cures quinsy and swollen glands in the neck if the affected part be rubbed with the stone. It is also useful as a remedy for diseases of the eye, and if water in which it has been steeped be given to anyone suffering from an attack of hiccoughs, relief will be afforded.

The beryl was warmly recommended as a cure for injuries to the eyeball, even of the most serious kind. For use in such cases the stone was to be pulverized in a mortar, and this powder then passed through a fine sieve. Of the minute particles thus secured, a small quantity was to be introduced each morning into the injured eye, the patient being in a recumbent posture. He was then to keep properly quiet with his eyes shut for a considerable length of time after this operation. Although it was not indeed claimed that where the power of sight had been destroyed it could thus be restored, still even in case of such severe injury the eyeball was healed sooner and assumed a better appearance. In less serious cases a cure was considered to be assured.[253]

Carbuncle

Many virtues are attributed to carbuncles. It is related that those who wear them can resist poisons and are preserved from the pest. They dissipate sadness, control incontinence, avert evil thoughts and dreams, exhilarate the soul and foretell misfortunes to man by losing their native splendor.[254]

Chalcedony

Perforated, spherical beads of milky white chalcedony are worn at the present day by Italian peasant women to increase the supply of milk. Hence the Italian name for such a bead, _pietra lattea_. Perforated beads of white steatite, belonging to the early Iron Age, have been found near Perugia, where the chalcedony beads are worn, and it is believed that these steatite beads were borne for the same purpose.[255]

Coral

Coral and safran, if wrapped in the skin of a cat, were believed to have marvellous powers; and when emeralds were added to the coral the talisman would drive off a mortal fever. To have the proper effect, however, it must be attached to the neck of the patient.[256] As a cure for hydrophobia, dog-collars set with flint and Maltese coral were recommended in Roman times; “sacred shells” and herbs over which magic incantations had been pronounced were also attached to, or enclosed in these collars. The use of coral in this case appears to have been due to the belief in its power to dissolve the spell cast by the Evil Eye, for Gratius, who flourished in the first century A.D. and was a contemporary of the poet Ovid, asserts that if such collars were put on dogs suffering from hydrophobia, the gods were appeased, and the charm cast by “an envious eye” was broken.[257]

The Hindu physicians found that coral tasted both sweet and sour, and they asserted that its principal action was on the secretions of the mucous membrane, on the bile and on certain morbid secretions.[258] Although the chemical constituents of coral have but slight medicinal value, it is quite possible that some effects upon the secretions may have been observed experimentally after the administration of a dose of powdered coral.

An old pharmacopœia gives elaborate directions for the preparation of the “Tincture of Coral.” A branch of very red coral was to be buried in melted wax, and allowed to remain over a fire for the space of two days, “after which time you will see that the coral has become white, while the wax has assumed a red hue.” A fresh branch of coral is then to be put into the partially colored wax, and the above operation repeated; the wax will then be “redder than before.” It is now to be broken into crusts, which are to be steeped in alcohol until the liquid has extracted the coloring matter from the wax and has become reddish. In this way, after the removal of the wax by filtration, etc., a tincture was obtained which is represented to have been an excellent tonic, and to have had the power to expel “bad humors,” by inducing perspiration, or by its diuretic action.[259] We strongly suspect that in this, as in many modern “tonics,” the contents of spirit was the active principle.

An apparent confirmation of the widespread belief of former centuries that red coral changed its hue in sympathy with the state of the wearer’s health, caused perhaps by the exudations or sweats arising from fevers or other ailments, is given from personal experience by the German physician, Johann Wittich. Writing toward the end of the sixteenth century, this author relates that he was called in to attend a youth named Bernard Erasmus, son of the burgomaster of Arnstadt. As the youth sickened unto death a red coral which he was wearing turned first whitish, then of a dirty yellow, and finally became covered with black spots. To the anxious questions of the youth’s sister, Wittich could only give a mournful answer, telling her to take away the coral, for death was surely approaching, and this prognostication proved to be only too true, as in a few hours young Erasmus was dead.[260]

A rosary of coral beads was sometimes called in France a _pater de sang_, or “blood-rosary,” since it was believed to check hemorrhages. An anonymous author of an eighteenth century treatise on superstitions, assuming that this effect could be produced only by thickening the blood, asserts that such a rosary might do more harm than good, for if it possessed this power at one time, it must possess it constantly, and its action would be very injurious.[261] Pearls and corals were still freely used as therapeutic agents in the last half of the seventeenth century, for we are told that Louis XIV (1638–1715), in 1655, took tablets containing gold and pearls, which had been prescribed for him by his physician Vallot, and, in 1664, a remedy composed of pearls and corals was recommended by the same authority.[262]

Corundum

A stone, which from the description seems to have been an almost colorless variety of corundum with a faint reddish tint, is recommended in the Syrian Aristotle for the alleviation of diseases of the breast. To have the proper effect this stone was to be worn on the region affected by the malady.[263]

Diamond

The Hindu physicians claimed that they had found that the diamond had six flavors; it was sweet, sour, salty, pungent, bitter, and acrid. Since the stone united all these apparently contradictory qualities, we have no reason to be surprised that it should be supposed to cure all diseases and lessen all ills. An elixir of great potency, stimulating and strengthening all the bodily functions, was made from the diamond.[264]

The author of the Jawâhir-nâmeh (Book of Jewels), written about a century ago, gives some of the prevalent Hindu ideas regarding the diamond. He asserts that the similarity of this stone and rock-crystal led to the belief that the latter was only an incomplete or “unripe” form of the diamond. For this reason rock-crystal was called _kacha_, “unripe,” and the diamond, _pakka_, “ripe.” The same writer, after noting the general belief that if a diamond were put in the mouth it caused the teeth to fall out, states that some were not disposed to admit this, as diamond dust had been used as a tooth-powder without any bad effects.[265] It might certainly serve to whiten the teeth, but any one who trusted to this very drastic dentifrice would soon be sadly in need of the dentist’s help.

As a proof that the diamond was not much prized as an ornamental stone in the Middle Ages, although some of the praise bestowed upon it by Pliny and other classical writers was copied and recopied in a more or less perfunctory way, we may cite the few lines devoted to the stone by Psellus, who lived in Constantinople in the eleventh century A.D. This writer simply remarks of the diamond that it is hard and difficult to pierce, adding, as its chief virtue, that it would quench the heat of the “semi-tertian” fever.[266] The belief in this cooling quality of the diamond was suggested by its lack of color coupled with its extreme hardness, the latter quality being thought to augment the refrigerant power supposed to be inherent in colorless crystals which resembled ice.

Emerald

The emerald is especially commended for amulets to be suspended from the necks of children; it is believed to preserve them from epileptic convulsions and to prevent the falling sickness; but if the violence of the disease is such that it cannot be overcome by the stone, the latter breaks up. Bound to a woman’s thigh it is said to hasten parturition; hanging from the neck it drives off vain fears and evil spirits. It strengthens the memory, restores the sight, reveals adultery and gives a knowledge of the future, produces eloquence and increases wealth.[267]

Besides the usual designation _marakata_ which Garbe believes to be derived from the Greek σμάραγδος, the Sanskrit has several distinguishing names for the emerald. One of these, _açmagarbhaja_, signifies “sprung from the rock,” and well describes the emerald in its matrix. Another name is _garalari_, “enemy of poison,” indicating the great repute enjoyed by this stone in India as an antidote for all animal, mineral and vegetable poisons.[268] In Mexico the emerald[269] bore the name Quetzalitzli, “stone of the quetzal,” because its color resembled the brilliant green of the plumes of the bird called in the Mexican tongue _quetzal_. These plumes were worn as insignia of royalty by the sovereigns of Mexico and Central America, and hence the emerald was regarded as an essentially regal gem, although its use was not confined to royalty.

The tincture of emerald is recommended by the Arab physician Abenzoar as an internal remedy for the cure of dysentery, the dose prescribed being six grains. He also claims to have cured one of his patients suffering from this disease by making him wear an emerald.[270] This illustrates the use of the stone in Moorish Spain in the early part of the eleventh century, the period of the highest development of Moorish civilization, for Abenzoar, or Abû Meruân, as he is sometimes called, was born in Seville about 1091 A.D. and died in 1161 or 1162.

Hematite

The curative properties of the hematite were generally recognized by the early writers, and in this case they were not so much at fault, as this substance possesses considerable astringent properties. Galen recommends its use for inflamed eyelids, following in this the teachings of the Egyptian schools of medicine. If there were tumors on the eyelids, the hematite was to be dissolved in white of egg, and if the tumors were very large it was to be boiled with fenugreek (fœnum græcum); if, however, there were no tumors, but simply a general inflammation of the eyelids, a solution in water sufficed. At the outset a few drops of a weak solution were to be poured into the eye through a glass tube; should this treatment not prove effective, the solution was to be made thicker and thicker, until at last it had to be dipped out on the point of the tube. If ground to a fine powder in a mortar, hematite cured spitting of blood and all ulcers. Galen advises great care in judging of the quality and strength of the powder, which was to be poured on or spread over the sore, but in his own case he admits that he trusted to his sense of taste to determine its quality.[271]

Sotacus as quoted by Pliny distinguishes five kinds of hematite, each one of which possessed special medicinal virtues. The best was the Ethiopic, which was a valuable ingredient in lotions for the eyes, and for burns. The second kind was called androdamus and came from Africa; this was very black, and was exceedingly hard and heavy, whence its name “conqueror of man”; it was reputed to attract silver, brass and iron. If rubbed with a moistened whetstone it gave forth a red juice, and was considered to be a specific for bilious disorders. The third kind was brought by the Arabs; this gave scarcely any juice when rubbed with the whetstone, but occasionally a little of a yellowish hue, and was useful for burns and for all bilious disorders. The fourth kind was called elatite in its natural state and melitite when burned; and the fifth appears to have contained an admixture of schist. These shared in the general virtues of the hematite, three grains of whose powder, when taken in oil, would cure all blood diseases.[272]

That the cause of the friendship between Hector and Dolon was the latter’s ownership of a hematite is asserted in the Greek Orphic poem “Lithica.” This statement must be derived from some annotation to the Iliad made in the Alexandrine schools, for Homer himself knows nothing of it. In the fateful encounter of Hector with Achilles, the form and aspect of Dolon are assumed by Athena to deceive Hector into the belief that his friend was at his side to aid him in the unequal struggle. The blood of Uranus when wounded by Kronos is stated in “Lithica” as the generating cause of hematite, and the stone is recommended as a cure for eye-diseases.[273]

Jacinth

A peculiarly stimulant and tonic effect exercised by the jacinth was noted by Ben Sina (Avicenna), and to this is attributed its value as an antidote for poisons. Not, however, to the material composition of the stone was this effect to be attributed, for it proceeded from the mass in the same way as did the virtue of the magnet. Hence Ben Sina is opposed to the theory that the natural warmth of the body acted upon the jacinth, when taken internally, producing a transmutation, dissolution and mingling of its substance with the volatile spiritual essence.[274]

In Constantinople, at a time when the plague was exceptionally prevalent, the citizens used to wear jacinths, because of the special virtues these stones were supposed to possess as guardians against the plague. That jacinth amulets intended for therapeutic use were occasionally to be found in pharmacies, is attested by Ambrosianus, who states that a jacinth the size of a human nail, and set in silver, was kept in a “pharmacy in Poland.” This stone, if held to a wound, was said to prevent mortification.[275]

JADE TONGUE AMULETS FOR THE DEAD. CHINESE

Figs. 1–4, plain types; Fig. 5, carved in shape of realistic cicada
(a. upper, b. lower face); Figs. 6–9, conventionalized forms of
cicada. From “Jade,” by Berthold Laufer.

By courtesy of the author and Field Museum of National History,
Chicago.
]

Jade

The first mention of this material is made by Monardes, who says:[276]

The so-called nephritic stone is a species of stone, the finest of
which resemble the emerald crystal, and are green with a milky hue. It
is worn in various forms, made in ancient times, such as the Indians
had; some like fish, some like the heads of birds, others like the
beaks of parrots and others again round as balls; all, however, are
perforated, since the Indians used to wear them attached for nephritic
or gastric pains, for they had marvellous efficacy in both these
infirmities. Their principal virtue regards the nephritic pain, and
the passing of gravel and stone, in such sort that a gentleman who
owns one, the best I have ever seen, wearing it bound on his arm,
passed so much gravel that he often takes it off, thinking that it may
be injurious for him to pass such a quantity; and, indeed, when he
removes the stone he passes much less.... This stone has an occult
property, by means of which it exercises a wonderful prophylactic
effect, preventing the occurrence of nephritic pain, and should it
nevertheless ensue, removing or alleviating it. The duchess my lady,
having suffered three attacks of this malady during a short period,
had one of these stones set in a bracelet and wore it on her arm, and
from the time she put it on, she has never felt any pain, although ten
years have past. In the same way it has served many, who have realized
the same benefit. Therefore, it is highly prized and it cannot now be
worn so easily as in former times, as only caciques and noblemen own
it, and rightly, since it has such wonderful effects.

The Chinese Taoist adept T’ao Hung Ching, who flourished A.D. 500, directs that when powdered jade is prescribed by a physician, carved jade must not be used, nor unwrought jade that has been buried in tombs. While sometimes a very fine powder was recommended, the usual plan was to reduce the jade by pounding it into pieces the size of small pulse. When administered in this form the Chinese physicians asserted that the powder passed unchanged through the system, but that the essential principle, the innate virtue, was absorbed by the patient. It relieved heart-burn and asthma and stilled thirst. Taken regularly for a long period it acted as a powerful general tonic, and had the special effects of strengthening the voice and rendering the hair glossy; but all these good effects could only be secured by the use of unwrought jade.[277]

The _lapis nephriticus_ (jade) was held to be a remedy for œdematous affections of the feet. As this stone was so highly in favor in Europe for a century or two after it had first been brought from America by the Spaniards, many were of the opinion that it should be constantly worn to exert its full curative power. There were some, however, who argued that with this as with other remedies, constant and unremitting use weakened the effect, so that when the wearer was suddenly attacked by some disorder for which jade was a cure, his system would have become so habituated to its action that it would no longer work as a remedy.[278]

Of the _lapis nephriticus_ the old Danish writer, Caspar Bertholin, relates in 1628 that four prominent citizens of Copenhagen, whom he had recommended to wear it to break up the calculi with which they were afflicted, could testify to its worth, adding, somewhat naïvely, “at least two of them can, for the two others are dead—but not of the stone.” He himself, however, although he had sent for specimens at great expense, to Venice, Nuremberg and Batavia, could not gain any relief from his trouble, but nevertheless, firm in his conviction of the special curative power of jade, he asserts that the calculi which tormented him must have been exceptionally hard and flint-like, so that they could not be broken up. The vogue enjoyed by this supposed remedy in the Denmark of the time is illustrated in the case of the reigning sovereign, Christian IV, who wore on his person a green nephrite until the day of his death. This stone is still preserved in the Rosenborg Museum collection among the relics of this king.[279]

FRONTISPIECE OF MUSEUM WORMIANUM

Printed in Leyden in 1655, showing a part of the remarkable collection
of specimens illustrating natural history owned
by Olaus Wormius of Copenhagen.
]

Johannes de Laet was much impressed with the virtues of the _lapis nephriticus_ as were most of his learned contemporaries, since he assures his readers that an oblong, smooth, moderately thick stone in his possession, having the color of honey and a very oily surface, had given his wife great relief from the severe pains caused by renal calculus, when the stone was bound upon her wrist. This particular specimen he sent a few years later to his Danish friend, Ole Worms, for the latter’s cabinet of natural history. De Laet writes that all the virtues claimed for nephrite by Monardes in 1574, were observable in his specimen.[280]

As late as 1726, there were some who retained faith in the curative power of jade, for a record of that date informs us that the traveller Paul Lucas had just come back to Paris from the Orient, and had brought with him a specimen of the lapis nephriticus which he intended to have cut up into thin slabs to bestow upon such of his friends as were suffering from gravel or calculus, or similar troubles.[281]

After relating that a specimen of American jadeite had been sent to him prior to 1602, Cleandro Arnobio states that when he showed it to a Signor Michele Mercato, “a man well versed in medicine and in the knowledge of minerals and herbs,” the latter immediately recognized it and called it “nephite,” from its virtues, saying also that he had found it useful in aiding parturition. A pharmacist, to whom it was shown in turn, declared that he had used the stone in this way but did not know its name. This is perhaps the earliest use of the name nephrite, the form occurring in the Italian text being either due to a typographical error, or to Arnobio’s ignorance of the correct spelling.

Proceeding to dilate upon the many virtues of this stone, Cleandro quotes Aldobrando, “a physician, physicist and philosopher of Bologna,” who described it as having usually a purple shade, almost like porphyry, with various figures of herbs, flowers, knots and Arabic characters in a yellow color. There were, however, according to the same authority, some of a darker hue, with protuberances and bands of yellow and also black spots, as though the stone were a section of the spleen. This kind was recommended and used in diseases of the spleen. In another variety, in the midst of the purple color might be seen a yellow stain with pittings and hollows; this was thought to figure a section of the liver, spattered with bile, and such stones were employed with good effect to cure those suffering from bilious disorders. To discharge the bile a dose of four grains was administered, the powdered stone being thoroughly dissolved in wine. Still another kind, of a reddish hue, “like coagulated blood,” full of pittings and veinings, was thought to be more especially valuable as a remedy for disorders of the blood and for checking hemorrhages.[282]

The learned Ko Kei asserts that the body of a man who had taken nearly five pounds of jade did not change color after his death and states that the body having been exhumed several years later did not show the slightest alteration. Besides this, it was observed that there were gold and jade around the tomb. Since then (in China), in the Kan period, the custom was followed of embalming the dead bodies of the emperors, and of preserving them in a garment ornamented with pearls and enclosed in a case of jade.[283]

JADE BELL OF THE KIEN-LUNG PERIOD: 1731–1795.

Carved out of a single piece of jade. Dimensions: height, 20 cm.;
width 14.6 cm.; thickness, from 1 cm. to
3.8 cm. From Berthold Lauter, “Jade, a Study in Chinese Archæology and
Religion,” Chicago, 1912.

By courtesy of the author and Field Museum of Natural History,
Chicago.
]

The Indians of Brazil prize the so-called Amazon stones (jade) more highly than any other of the ornaments they wear. This is not chiefly because of their ornamental quality, but rather because these _ita ybymbae_ (green stones) have in many cases been handed down from generation to generation for many centuries. They are of cylindrical, tabular or other regular form and polished, and are believed to be amulets affording protection against many diseases as well as against snake bites. They are worn suspended from the neck and are regarded as valuable aids in difficult parturition. Because of their remedial virtues they are sometimes called _ita poçanga_, or “medicine stones.” They are also found with the natives of the Caribbean islands and are there called “the smooth stones from the far-off continent.”[284]

As in all superstitions, so in those concerning jade in China, the fact that ill luck instead of good luck fortuitously resulted from the use of the material was explained in a way that did not do violence to the fundamental idea. We are told that on the road near Kneha, in Turkestan, there lies a block of jade from the quarries of Raskam-Darya, in Eastern Turkestan. This block was on its way to Peking, when orders came from the imperial court not to forward any more jade from this quarry. The reason was that the heir apparent had been taken ill after having slept on a couch made of Raskam jade.[285]

Jasper

In the collection of the Biblioteca di Ravenna there is a red jasper amulet engraved with a device representing Hercules strangling the Nemæan Lion. Amulets of this type are recommended for the cure of the colic by the Greek physician Alexander Trallianus, who flourished in the first half of the sixth century A.D. He directs that this design be engraved on a “Median stone,” which is then to be set in a gold ring and worn by the patient.[286] The fact that the constellation Leo was believed to rule over the stomach, and possibly over the liver also, probably determined the selection of the design. On the reverse of the Ravenna amulet are inscribed the letters K K K, which are believed to stand for Κωλική, “colic.”[287]