Chapter XXII: Book XXXVII: The Natural History of Precious Stones (1)

CHAP. 1. (1.)—THE FIRST USE OF PRECIOUS STONES.

That nothing may be wanting to the work which I have undertaken, it still remains for me to speak of precious stones: a subject in which the majestic might of Nature presents itself to us, contracted within a very limited space, though, in the opinion of many, nowhere displayed in a more admirable form. So great is the value that men attach to the multiplied varieties of these gems, their numerous colours, their constituent parts, and their singular beauty, that, in the case of some of them, it is looked upon as no less than sacrilege to engrave them, for signets even, the very purpose for which, in reality, they were made. Others, again, are regarded as beyond all price, and could not be valued at any known amount of human wealth; so much so that, in the case of many, it is quite sufficient to have some single gem or other before the eyes, there to behold the supreme and absolute perfection of Nature’s work.

We have already[2889] stated, to some extent, when speaking on the subject of gold and rings, how the use of precious stones first originated, and from what beginnings this admiration of them has now increased to such an universal passion. According to fabulous lore, the first use of them was suggested by the rocks of Caucasus, in consequence of an unhappy interpretation which was given to the story of the chains of Prometheus: for we are told by tradition, that he enclosed a fragment of this stone in iron, and wore it upon his finger;[2890] such being the first ring and the first jewel known.

CHAP. 2.—THE JEWEL OF POLYCRATES.

With a beginning such as this, the value set upon precious stones increased to such a boundless extent, that Polycrates,[2891] the tyrant of Samos, who ruled over the islands and the adjacent shores, when he admitted that his good fortune had been too great, deemed it a sufficient expiation for all this enjoyment of happiness, to make a voluntary sacrifice of a single precious stone; thinking thereby to balance accounts with the inconstancy of fortune, and, by this single cause for regret, abundantly to buy off every ill-will she might entertain. Weary, therefore, of his continued prosperity, he embarked on board a ship, and, putting out to sea, threw the ring which he wore into the waves. It so happened, however, that a fish of remarkable size, one destined for the table of a king, swallowed the jewel, as it would have done a bait; and then, to complete the portentous omen, restored it again to the owner in the royal kitchen, by the ruling hand of a treacherous[2892] fortune.

The stone in this ring, it is generally agreed, was a sardonyx,[2893] and they still show one at Rome, which, if we believe the story, was this identical stone. It is enclosed in a horn of gold, and was deposited, by the Emperor Augustus, in the Temple of Concord, where it holds pretty nearly the lowest rank among a multitude of other jewels that are preferable to it.

CHAP. 3.—THE JEWEL OF PYRRHUS.

Next in note after this ring, is the jewel that belonged to another king, Pyrrhus, who was so long at war with the Romans. It is said that there was in his possession an agate,[2894] upon which were to be seen the Nine Muses and Apollo holding a lyre; not a work of art, but the spontaneous produce of Nature,[2895] the veins in it being so arranged that each of the Muses had her own peculiar attribute.

With the exception of these two jewels, authors make no mention of any others that have been rendered famous. We only find it recorded by them, that Ismenias the flute-player[2896] was in the habit of displaying great numbers of glittering stones, a piece of vanity, on his part, which gave occasion to the following story. An emerald,[2897] upon which was engraved a figure of Amymone,[2898] being offered for sale in the Isle of Cyprus at the price of six golden denarii, he gave orders to purchase it. The dealer however, reduced the price, and returned two denarii; upon which, Ismenias remarked—“By Hercules! he has done me but a bad turn in this, for the merit of the stone has been greatly impaired by this reduction in price.”

It seems to have been this Ismenias who introduced the universal practice among musicians of proclaiming their artistic merit by this kind of ostentation. Thus Dionysodorus, for instance, his contemporary and rival, imitated his example, in order that he might not appear to be his inferior in skill; whereas, in reality, he only held the third rank among the musicians of that day. Nicomachus, too, it is said, was the possessor of great numbers of precious stones, though selected with but little taste. In mentioning these illustrations, by way of prelude to this Book, it is by no means improbable that they may have the appearance of being addressed to those, who, piquing themselves upon a similar display, become puffed up with a vanity which is evidently much more appropriate to a performer on the flute.

CHAP. 4.—WHO WERE THE MOST SKILFUL LAPIDARIES. THE FINEST SPECIMENS OF ENGRAVING ON PRECIOUS STONES.

The stone of the ring[2899] which is now shown as that of Polycrates, is untouched and without engraving. In the time of Ismenias, long[2900] after his day, it would appear to have become the practice to engrave smaragdi even; a fact which is established by an edict of Alexander the Great, forbidding his portrait to be cut upon this stone by any other engraver than Pyrgoteles,[2901] who, no doubt, was the most famous adept in this art. Since his time, Apollonides and Cronius have excelled in it; as also Dioscurides,[2902] who engraved a very excellent likeness of the late Emperor Augustus upon a signet, which, ever since, the Roman emperors have used. The Dictator Sylla, it is said, always made use of a seal[2903] which represented the surrender of Jugurtha. Authors inform us also, that the native of Intercatia,[2904] whose father challenged Scipio Æmilianus,[2905] and was slain by him, was in the habit of using a signet with a representation of this combat engraved upon it; a circumstance which gave rise to the well-known joke of Stilo Præconinus,[2906] who naively enquired, what he would have done if Scipio had been the person slain?

The late Emperor Augustus was in the habit, at first, of using the figure of a Sphinx[2907] for his signet; having found two of them, among the jewels of his mother, that were perfectly alike. During the Civil Wars, his friends used to employ one of these signets, in his absence, for sealing such letters and edicts as the circumstances of the times required to be issued in his name; it being far from an unmeaning pleasantry on the part of those who received these missives, that the Sphinx always brought its enigmas[2908] with it. The frog, too, on the seal of Mæcenas, was held in great terror, by reason of the monetary imposts which it announced. At a later period, with the view of avoiding the sarcasms relative to the Sphinx, Augustus made use of a signet with a figure upon it of Alexander the Great.

CHAP. 5.—THE FIRST DACTYLIOTHECÆ AT ROME.

A collection of precious stones bears the foreign name of “dactyliotheca.”[2909] The first person who possessed one at Rome was Scaurus,[2910] the step-son of Sylla; and, for a long time, there was no other such collection there, until at length Pompeius Magnus consecrated in the Capitol, among other donations, one that had belonged to King Mithridates; and which, as M. Varro and other authors of that period assure us, was greatly superior to that of Scaurus. Following his example, the Dictator Cæsar consecrated six dactyliothecæ in the Temple of Venus Genetrix; and Marcellus, the son of Octavia,[2911] presented one to the Temple of the Palatine Apollo.

CHAP. 6.—JEWELS DISPLAYED AT ROME IN THE TRIUMPH OF POMPEIUS MAGNUS.

But it was this conquest by Pompeius Magnus that first introduced so general a taste for pearls and precious stones; just as the victories, gained by L. Scipio[2912] and Cneius Manlius,[2913] had first turned the public attention to chased silver, Attalic tissues, and banquetting-couches decorated with bronze; and the conquests of L. Mummius had brought Corinthian bronzes and pictures into notice.

(2.) To prove more fully that this was the case, I will here give the very words of the public Registers[2914] with reference to the triumphs of Pompeius Magnus. On the occasion of his third triumph, over the Pirates and over the Kings and nations of Asia and Pontus that have been already enumerated in the Seventh Book[2915] of this work, M. Fiso and M. Messala being consuls,[2916] on the day before[2917] the calends of October, the anniversary of his birth, he displayed in public, with its pieces, a chess-board,[2918] made of two precious stones, three feet in width by two in length—and to leave no doubt that the resources of Nature do become exhausted, I will here observe, that no precious stones are to be found at the present day, at all approaching such dimensions as these; as also that there was upon this board a moon of solid gold, thirty pounds in weight!—three banquetting-couches; vessels for nine waiters, in gold and precious stones; three golden statues of Minerva, Mars, and Apollo; thirty-three crowns adorned with pearls; a square mountain of gold, with stags upon it, lions, and all kinds of fruit, and surrounded with a vine of gold; as also a musæum,[2919] adorned with pearls, with an horologe[2920] upon the top of it.

There was a likeness also in pearls of Pompeius himself, his noble countenance, with the hair thrown back from the forehead, delighting the eye. Yes, I say, those frank features, so venerated throughout all nations, were here displayed in pearls! the severity of our ancient manners being thus subdued, and the display being more the triumph of luxury than the triumph of conquest. Never, most assuredly, would Pompeius have so long maintained his surname of “Magnus” among the men of that day, if on the occasion of his first[2921] conquest his triumph had been such as this. Thy portrait in pearls, O Magnus! those resources of prodigality, that have been discovered for the sake of females only! Thy portrait in pearls, refinements in luxury, which the Roman laws would not have allowed thee to wear even! And was it in this way that thy value must be appreciated? Would not that trophy have given a more truthful likeness of thee which thou hadst erst erected upon the Pyrenæan[2922] mountain heights? Assuredly such a portrait as this had been no less than a downright ignominy and disgrace, were we not bound to behold in it a menacing presage of the anger of the gods, and to see foreshadowed thereby the time when that head, now laden with the wealth of the East, was to be displayed, severed from the body.[2923]

But in other respects, how truly befitting the hero was this triumph! To the state, he presented two thousand millions of sesterces; to the legati and quæstors who had exerted themselves in defence of the sea coast, he gave one thousand millions of sesterces; and to each individual soldier, six thousand sesterces. He has rendered, however, comparatively excusable the Emperor Caius,[2924] who, in addition to other feminine luxuries, used to wear shoes adorned with pearls; as also the Emperor Nero, who used to adorn his sceptres with masks worked in pearls, and had the couches, destined for his pleasures, made of the same costly materials. Nay, we have no longer any right, it would seem, to censure the employment of drinking-cups adorned with precious stones, of various other articles in daily use that are similarly enriched, and of rings that sparkle with gems: for what species of luxury can there be thought of, that was not more innocent in its results than this on the part of Pompeius?

CHAP. 7.—AT WHAT PERIOD MURRHINE VESSELS WERE FIRST INTRODUCED AT ROME. INSTANCES OF LUXURY IN REFERENCE TO THEM.

It was the same conquest, too, that first introduced murrhine[2925] vessels at Rome; Pompeius being the first to dedicate, at the conclusion of this triumph, vases and cups, made of this material, in the Temple of Jupiter Capitolinus: a circumstance which soon brought them into private use, waiters, even, and eating-utensils made of murrhine being in great request. This species of luxury, too, is daily on the increase, a single cup, which would hold no more than three sextarii, having been purchased at the price of seventy thousand sesterces. A. person of consular rank, who some years[2926] ago used to drink out of this cup, grew so passionately fond of it, as to gnaw its edges even, an injury, however, which has only tended to enhance its value: indeed there is now no vessel in murrhine that has ever been estimated at a higher figure than this. We may form some opinion how much money this same personage swallowed up in articles of this description, from the fact that the number of them was so great, that, when the Emperor Nero deprived his children of them, and they were exposed to public view, they occupied a whole theatre to themselves, in the gardens beyond the Tiber; a theatre which was found sufficiently large even, for the audience that attended on the occasion when Nero[2927] rehearsed his musical performances before his appearance in the Theatre of Pompeius. It was at this exhibition, too, that I saw counted the broken fragments of a single cup, which it was thought proper to preserve in an urn and display, I suppose, with the view of exciting the sorrows of the world, and of exposing the cruelty of fortune; just as though it had been no less than the body of Alexander the Great himself!

T. Petronius,[2928] a personage of consular rank, intending, from his hatred of Nero, to disinherit the table of that prince, broke a murrhine basin, which had cost him no less than three hundred thousand sesterces. But Nero himself, as it was only proper for a prince to do, surpassed them all, by paying one million of sesterces for a single cup: a fact well worthy of remembrance, that an emperor, the father of his country, should have drunk from a vessel of such costly price!

CHAP. 8.—THE NATURE OF MURRHINE VESSELS.

Murrhine vessels come from the East, in numerous localities of which, remarkable for nothing else, they are to be found. It is in the empire of the Parthians, more particularly, that they are met with, though those of the very finest quality come to us from Carmania.[2929] It is generally thought that these vessels are formed of a moist substance, which under ground becomes solidified by heat.[2930] In size they never exceed a small waiter,[2931] and, as to thickness, they rarely admit of being used as drinking-cups, so large as those already[2932] mentioned. The brightness of them is destitute of strength, and it may be said that they are rather shining than brilliant.[2933] But the chief merit of them is the great variety of their colours, and the wreathed veins, which, every here and there, present shades of purple and white, with a mixture of the two; the purple gradually changing, as it were, to a fiery red, and the milk-white assuming a ruddy hue. Some persons praise the edges of these vessels more particularly, with a kind of reflection in the colours, like those beheld in the rain-bow. Others, again, are more pleased with them when quite opaque, it being considered a demerit when they are at all transparent, or of a pallid hue. The appearance, too, of crystals[2934] in them is highly prized, and of spots that look like warts; not prominent, but depressed, as we mostly see upon the human body. The perfume,[2935] too, of which they smell, is looked upon as an additional recommendation.

CHAP. 9—THE NATURE OF CRYSTAL.

It is a diametrically opposite cause to this that produces crystal,[2936] a substance which assumes a concrete form from excessive congelation.[2937] At all events, crystal is only to be found in places where the winter snow freezes with the greatest intensity; and it is from the certainty that it is a kind of ice, that it has received the name[2938] which it bears in Greek. The East, too, sends us crystal, there being none preferred to the produce of India. It is to be found, also, in Asia, that of the vicinity of Alabanda,[2939] Orthosia,[2940] and the neighbouring mountains, being held in a very low degree of esteem. In Cyprus, also, there is crystal, but that found upon the Alpine heights in Europe is, in general, more highly valued. According to Juba, there is crystal in a certain island of the Red Sea, opposite the coast of Arabia, called “Necron;”[2941] as, also, in another neighbouring island[2942] which produces the precious stone known as the “topazus;” where a block of crystal was extracted, he says, by Pythagoras, the præfect of King Ptolemæus, no less than a cubit in length.

Cornelius Bocchus informs us that in Lusitania, there have been blocks of crystal found, of extraordinary weight, in sinking shafts in the Ammiensian[2943] mountains there, to a water-level for the supply of wells. It is a marvellous fact, stated by Xenocrates of Ephesus, that in Asia and in the Isle of Cyprus, crystal is turned up by the plough; it having been the general belief that it is never to be found in terreous soils, and only in rocky localities. That is much more probable which the same Xenocrates tells us, when he says that the mountain streams often bring down with them fragments of crystal. Sudines says, that crystal is only to be found in localities that face the south, a thing that is known to be really the fact: indeed, it is never found in humid spots, however cold the climate may be, even though the rivers there freeze to the very bottom. Rain-water and pure snow are absolutely necessary for its formation,[2944] and hence it is, that it is unable to endure heat, being solely employed for holding liquids that are taken cold. From the circumstance of its being hexagonal[2945] and hexahedral, it is not easy to penetrate this substance; and the more so, as the pyramidal terminations do not always have the same appearance. The polish on its faces is so exquisite, that no art can possibly equal it.

CHAP. 10.—LUXURY DISPLAYED IN THE USE OF CRYSTAL. REMEDIES DERIVED FROM CRYSTAL.

The largest block of crystal that has ever been beheld by us, is the one that was consecrated by Julia Augusta in the Capitol, and which weighed about one hundred and fifty pounds.[2946] Xenocrates speaks of having seen a vase of crystal, which held one amphora,[2947] and we find other writers mentioning a vessel from India which held four sextarii. For my own part, I can positively say, that there is crystal amid the crags of the Alps, so difficult of access, that it is usually found necessary to be suspended by ropes in order to extract it. Persons who are experienced in the matter detect its presence by certain signs and indications.

Crystal is subject to numerous defects, sometimes presenting a rough, solder-like, substance, or else clouded by spots upon it; while occasionally it contains some hidden humour[2948] within, or is traversed by hard and brittle knurrs,[2949] which are known as “salt grains.”[2950] Some crystal, too, has a red rust upon it, while, in other instances, it contains filaments that look like flaws, a defect which artists conceal by engraving it. But where crystals are entirely free from defect, they are preferred uncut; in which case, they are known as “acenteta,”[2951] and have the colour, not of foam, but of limpid water. In the last place, the weight of crystals is a point which is taken into consideration.

I find it stated by medical men that the very best cautery for the human body is a ball of crystal acted upon by the rays of the sun.[2952] This substance, too, has been made the object of a mania; for, not many years ago, a mistress of a family, who was by no means very rich, gave one hundred and fifty thousand sesterces for a single basin made of crystal. Nero, on receiving tidings that all was lost, in the excess of his fury, dashed two cups of crystal to pieces; this being his last act of vengeance upon his fellow-creatures, preventing any one from ever drinking again from these vessels. Crystal, when broken, cannot by any possibility be mended. Vessels in glass have been brought to a marvellous degree of resemblance to crystal; and yet, wonderful to say, they have only tended to enhance the value of crystal, and in no way to depreciate it.

CHAP. 11.—AMBER: THE MANY FALSEHOODS THAT HAVE BEEN TOLD ABOUT IT.

Next in rank among the objects of luxury, we have amber;[2953] an article which, for the present, however, is in request among women[2954] only. All these three last-mentioned substances hold the same rank, no doubt, as precious stones; the two former for certain fair reasons; crystal, because it is adapted for taking cool drinks, and murrhine vessels, for taking drinks that are either hot or cold. But as for amber, luxury has not been able, as yet, to devise any justification for the use of it. This is a subject which affords us an excellent opportunity of exposing some of the frivolities and falsehoods of the Greeks; and I beg that my readers will only have patience with me while I do so, it being really worth while, for our own practical improvement, to become acquainted with the marvellous stories which they have promulgated respecting amber.

After Phaëthon had been struck by lightning, his sisters, they tell us, became changed into poplars,[2955] which every year shed their tears upon the banks of the Eridanus, a river known to us as the “Padus.” To these tears was given the name of “electrum,”[2956] from the circumstance that the Sun was usually called “elector.” Such is the story, at all events, that is told by many of the poets, the first of whom were, in my opinion, Æschylus, Philoxenus, Euripides, Satyrus, and Nicander; and the falsity of which is abundantly proved upon the testimony of Italy itself.[2957] Those among the Greeks who have devoted more attention to the subject, have spoken of certain islands in the Adriatic Sea, known as the “Electrides,” and to which the Padus,[2958] they say, carries down electrum. It is the fact, however, that there never were any islands there so called, nor, indeed, any islands so situate as to allow of the Padus carrying down anything in its course to their shores. As to Æschylus placing the Eridanus in Iberia, or, in other words, in Spain, and giving it the name of Rhodanus; and as to Euripides and Apollonius representing the Rhodanus and the Padus as discharging themselves by one common mouth on the shores of the Adriatic; we can forgive them all the more readily for knowing nothing about amber when they betray such monstrous ignorance of geography.

Other writers, again, who are more guarded in their assertions, have told us, though with an equal degree of untruthfulness, that, at the extremity of the Adriatic Gulf, upon certain inaccessible rocks there, there are certain trees[2959] which shed their gum at the rising of the Dog-Star. Theophrastus[2960] has stated that amber is extracted from the earth in Liguria;[2961] Chares, that Phaëthon died in the territory of Hammon, in Æthiopia, where there is a temple of his and an oracle, and where amber is produced; Philemon, that it is a fossil substance, and that it is found in two different localities in Scythia, in one of which it is of a white and waxen colour, and is known as “electrum;” while in the other it is red, and is called “sualiternicum.” Demostratus calls amber “lyncurion,”[2962] and he says that it originates in the urine of the wild beast known as the “lynx;” that voided by the male producing a red and fiery substance, and that by the female an amber of a white and less pronounced colour: he also informs us that by some persons it is called “langurium,” and that in Italy, there are certain wild beasts known as “languri.” Zeuothemis, however, calls these wild beasts “langæ,” and gives the banks of the river Padus as their locality. Sudines says, that it is a tree in reality, that produces amber, and that, in Etruria, this tree is known by the name of “lynx;” an opinion which is also adopted by Metrodorus. Sotacus expresses a belief that amber exudes from certain stones in Britannia, to which he gives the name of “electrides.” Pytheas says that the Gutones,[2963] a people of Germany, inhabit the shores of an estuary of the Ocean called Mentonomon, their territory extending a distance of six thousand stadia; that, at one day’s sail from this territory, is the Isle of Abalus, upon the shores of which, amber is thrown up by the waves in spring, it being an excretion of the sea in a concrete form; as, also, that the inhabitants use this amber by way of fuel, and sell it to their neighbours, the Teutones. Timæus, too, is of the same belief, but he has given to the island the name of Basilia.[2964]

Philemon says that electrum does not yield a flame.[2965] Nicias, again, will have it, that it is a liquid produced by the rays of the sun; and that these rays, at the moment of the sun’s setting, striking with the greatest force upon the surface of the soil, leave upon it an unctuous sweat, which is carried off by the tides of the Ocean, and thrown up upon the shores of Germany. He states, also, that in Egypt it is similarly produced, and is there called “sacal;”[2966] that it is found in India, too, where it is held as a preferable substitute for frankincense; and that in Syria the women make the whirls of their spindles of this substance, and give it the name of “harpax,”[2967] from the circumstance that it attracts leaves towards it, chaff, and the light fringe of tissues. According to Theochrestus, amber is thrown up by the tides of the Ocean, at the foot of the Pyrenæan range; an opinion adopted also by Xenocrates. Asarubas, who has written the most recently upon these subjects, and is still living, informs us, that near the shores of the Atlantic is Lake Cephisis, known to the Mauri by the name of “Electrum;” and that when this lake is dried up by the sun, the slime of it produces amber, which floats upon the surface. Mnaseas speaks of a locality in Africa called Sicyon, and of a river Crathis there, which discharges itself from a lake into the Ocean, the banks of which are frequented by birds which he calls “meleagrides”[2968] and “penelopes:” it is here that, according to him, electrum is produced, in manner above mentioned. Theomenes says that near the Greater Syrtis are the Gardens of the Hesperides, and Lake Electrum: on the banks, he says, are poplars, from the summits of which amber falls into the water below, where it is gathered by the maidens of the Hesperides.

Ctesias asserts that there is in India[2969] a river called Hypobarus, a word which signifies “bearer of all good things;” that this river flows from the north into the Eastern Ocean, where it discharges itself near a mountain covered with trees which produce electrum; and that these trees are called “siptachoræ,” the meaning of which is “intense sweetness.” Mithridates says, that off the shores of Germany there is an island called “Serita,”[2970] covered with a kind of cedar, from which amber falls upon the rocks. According to Xenocrates, this substance is called, in Italy, not only “succinum,” but “thieum” as well, the Scythian name of it, for there also it is to be found, being “sacrium:” others, he says, are of opinion that it is a product of Numidia. But the one that has surpassed them all is Sophocles, the tragic poet; a thing that indeed surprises me, when I only consider the surpassing gravity of his lofty style, the high repute that he enjoyed in life, his elevated position by birth at Athens, his various exploits, and his high military command. According to him, amber is produced in the countries beyond India, from the tears that are shed for Meleager, by the birds called “meleagrides!”[2971] Who can be otherwise than surprised that he should have believed such a thing as this, or have hoped to persuade others to believe it? What child, too, could possibly be found in such a state of ignorance as to believe that birds weep once a year, that their tears are so prolific as this, or that they go all the way from Greece, where Meleager died, to India to weep? “But then,” it will be said, “do not the poets tell many other stories that are quite as fabulous?” Such is the fact, no doubt, but for a person seriously to advance such an absurdity with reference to a thing so common as amber, which is imported every day and so easily proves the mendacity of this assertion, is neither more nor less than to evince a supreme contempt for the opinions of mankind, and to assert with impunity an intolerable falsehood.

(3.) There can be no doubt that amber is a product of the islands of the Northern Ocean, and that it is the substance by the Germans called “glæsum;”[2972] for which reason the Romans, when Germanicus Cæsar commanded the fleet in those parts, gave to one of these islands the name of Glæsaria,[2973] which by the barbarians was known as Austeravia. Amber is produced from a marrow discharged by trees belonging to the pine[2974] genus, like gum from the cherry, and resin from the ordinary pine. It is a liquid at first, which issues forth in considerable quantities, and is gradually hardened by heat or cold, or else by the action of the sea, when the rise of the tide carries off the fragments from the shores of these islands. At all events, it is thrown up upon the coasts, in so light and voluble a form that in the shallows it has all the appearance of hanging suspended in the water. Our forefathers, too, were of opinion that it is the juice of a tree, and for this reason gave it the name of “succinum:”[2975] and one great proof that it is the produce of a tree of the pine genus, is the fact that it emits a pine-like smell when rubbed, and that it burns, when ignited, with the odour and appearance of torch-pine wood.

Amber is imported by the Germans into Pannonia, more particularly; from whence the Veneti, by the Greeks called Eneti, first brought it into general notice, a people in the vicinity of Pannonia, and dwelling on the shores of the Adriatic Sea. From this it is evident how the story which connects it with the Padus first originated; and at the present day we see the female peasantry in the countries that lie beyond that river wearing necklaces of amber, principally as an ornament, no doubt, but on account of its remedial virtues as well; for amber, it is generally believed, is good for affections of the tonsillary glands and fauces, the various kinds of water in the vicinity of the Alps being apt to produce disease in the human throat.[2976]

From Carnuntum in Pannonia, to the coasts of Germany from which the amber is brought, is a distance of about six hundred miles, a fact which has been only very recently ascertained; and there is still living a member of the equestrian order, who was sent thither by Julianus, the manager of the gladiatorial exhibitions for the Emperor Nero, to procure a supply of this article. Traversing the coasts of that country and visiting the various markets there, he brought back amber, in such vast quantities, as to admit of the nets, which are used for protecting the podium[2977] against the wild beasts, being studded[2978] with amber.

The arms too, the litters,[2979] and all the other apparatus, were, on one day, decorated with nothing but amber, a different kind of display being made each day that these spectacles were exhibited. The largest piece of amber that this personage brought to Rome was thirteen pounds in weight.

That amber is found in India too, is a fact well ascertained. Archelaüs, who reigned over Cappadocia, says that it is brought from that country in the rough state, and with the fine bark still adhering to it, it being the custom there to polish it by boiling it in the grease of a sucking-pig. One great proof that amber must have been originally in a liquid state, is the fact that, owing to its transparency, certain objects are to be seen within, ants for example, gnats, and lizards. These, no doubt, must have first adhered to it while liquid, and then, upon its hardening, have remained enclosed within.[2980]

CHAP. 12.—THE SEVERAL KINDS OF AMBER: THE REMEDIES DERIVED FROM IT.

There are several kinds[2981] of amber. The white is the one that has the finest odour;[2982] but neither this nor the wax-coloured amber is held in very high esteem. The red amber is more highly valued; and still more so, when it is transparent, without presenting too brilliant and igneous an appearance. For amber, to be of high quality, should present a brightness like that of fire, but not flakes resembling those of flame. The most highly esteemed amber is that known as the “Falernian,” from its resemblance to the colour of Falernian wine; it is perfectly transparent, and has a softened, transparent, brightness. Other kinds, again, are valued for their mellowed tints, like the colour of boiled honey in appearance. It ought to be known, however, that any colour can be imparted to amber that may be desired, it being sometimes stained with kid-suet and root of alkanet; indeed, at the present day, amber is dyed purple even. When a vivifying heat has been imparted to it by rubbing it between the fingers, amber will attract chaff, dried leaves, and thin bark, just in the same way that the magnet attracts iron. Pieces of amber, steeped in oil, burn with a more brilliant and more lasting flame than pith of flax.[2983]

So highly valued is this as an object of luxury, that a very diminutive human effigy, made of amber, has been known to sell at a higher price than living men even, in stout and vigorous health. This single ground for censure, however, is far from being sufficient; in Corinthian objects of vertu, it is the copper that recommends them, combined with silver and gold; and in embossed works it is the skill and genius of the artist that is so highly esteemed. We have already said what it is that recommends vessels of murrhine and of crystal; pearls, too, are of use for wearing upon the head, and gems upon the fingers. In the case of all other luxuries, in fact, it is either a spirit of ostentation or some utility that has been discovered in them that pleads so strongly in their behalf; but in that of amber we have solely the consciousness that we are enjoying a luxury, and nothing more. Domitius Nero, among the other portentous extravagances of his life, bestowed this name upon the ringlets of his wife Poppæa, and, in certain verses of his, he has even gone so far as to call them “succini.” As fine names, too, are never wanting for bodily defects, a third tint has been introduced of late for hair among our ladies, under the name of “amber-colour.”

Amber, however, is not without its utility in a medicinal point of view; though it is not for this reason that the women are so pleased with it. It is beneficial for infants also, attached to the body in the form of an amulet; and, according to Callistratus, it is good for any age, as a preventive of delirium and as a cure for strangury, either taken in drink or attached as an amulet to the body. This last author, too, has invented a new variety of amber; giving the name of “chryselectrum”[2984] to an amber of a golden colour, and which presents the most beautiful tints in the morning. This last kind attracts flame, too, with the greatest rapidity, and, the moment it approaches the fire, it ignites. “Worn upon the neck, he says, it is a cure for fevers and other diseases, and, triturated with honey and oil of roses, it is good for maladies of the ears. Beaten up with Attic honey, it is good for dimness of sight: and the powder of it, either taken by itself or with gum mastich in water, is remedial for diseases of the stomach. Amber, too, is greatly in request for the imitation of the transparent precious stones, amethystos in particular: for, as already stated, it admits of being dyed of every colour.

CHAP. 13.—LYNCURUIM: TWO ASSERTED REMEDIES.

The pertinacity that has been displayed by certain authors compels me to speak of lyncurium[2985] next; for even those who maintain that it is not a variety of amber, still assure us that it is a precious stone. They assert, too, that it is a product of the urine of the lynx and of a kind of earth, the animal covering up the urine the moment it has voided it, from a jealousy that man should gain possession of it; a combination which hardens into stone. The colour of it, they inform us, like that of some kinds of amber, is of a fiery[2986] hue, and it admits, they say, of being engraved. They assert, too, that this substance attracts[2987] to itself not only leaves or straws, but thin plates of copper even or of iron; a story which Theophrastus even believes, on the faith of a certain Diocles.

For my own part, I look upon the whole of these statements as untrue, and I do not believe that in our time there has ever been a precious stone seen with such a name as this. I regard, too, the assertions that have been made as to its medicinal properties, as equally false; to the effect that, taken in drink, it disperses urinary calculi, and that, taken in wine, or only looked at, it is curative of jaundice.

CHAP. 14.—THE VARIOUS PRECIOUS STONES, CLASSIFIED ACCORDING TO THEIR PRINCIPAL COLOURS.

We will now proceed to speak of the various kinds of precious stones, the existence of which is generally admitted, beginning with those which are the most highly esteemed. Nor shall we content ourselves with doing this only; but, with the view of consulting the general welfare of mankind, we shall also refute the infamous lies that have been promulgated by the magicians: for it is with reference to precious stones, more particularly, that they have circulated most of their fabulous stories, stepping, under that most alluring guise of ascertaining remedial virtues, beyond all bounds, and entering the region of the marvellous.

CHAP. 15. (4.)—ADAMAS: SIX VARIETIES OF IT. TWO REMEDIES.

The substance that possesses the greatest value, not only among the precious stones, but of all human possessions, is adamas;[2988] mineral which, for a long time, was known to kings only, and to very few of them. Such was the name given to a nodosity of gold,[2989] sometimes, though but rarely, found in the mines, in close proximity with gold, and only there to be found, it was thought. The ancients supposed that adamas was only to be discovered in the mines of Æthiopia,[2990] between the Temple of Mercury and the island of Meroë; and they have informed us that it was never larger than a cucumber-seed, or differing at all from it in colour.

At the present day, for the first time, there are no less than six different varieties of it recognized. The Indian adamas is found, not in a stratum of gold, but in a substance of a kindred nature to crystal; which it closely resembles in its transparency and its highly polished hexangular and hexahedral[2991] form. In shape it is turbinated, running to a point at either extremity, and closely resembling, marvellous to think of, two cones united at the base. In size, too, it is as large even as a hazel-nut. Resembling that of India, is the adamas[2992] of Arabia, which is found in a similar bed, but not so large in size. Other varieties have a pallid hue like that of silver, and are only to be found in the midst of gold of the very finest quality. These stones are tested upon the anvil, and will resist the blow to such an extent, as to make the iron rebound and the very anvil split asunder.[2993] Indeed its hardness is beyond all expression, while at the same time it quite sets fire at defiance[2994] and is incapable of being heated; owing to which indomitable powers it is, that it has received the name which it derives from the Greek.[2995]

One kind, about as large as a grain of millet in size, has been called “cenchros,”[2996] and another,[2997] that is found in the gold mines at Philippi, is known as the “Macedonian” adamas: this last is about as large as a cucumber-seed in size. We next come to the Cyprian[2998] adamas, so called from its being found in the Isle of Cyprus: it is of a colour somewhat inclining to that of copper, but, in reference to its medicinal virtues, of which we shall have to make further mention, it is the most efficacious of them all. Next in succession to this we have siderites,[2999] a stone which shines like iron, and is more ponderous than any of the others, but differs in its properties from them all. For it breaks when struck by the hammer, and admits of being perforated by other kinds of adamas; a thing which is the case, also, with that of Cyprus: in short, these two are degenerate stones, and only bear the name of “adamas” for the purpose of enhancing their value.

Now with reference to those affinities and repugnances which exist between certain objects, known to the Greeks as “sympathia” and “antipathia,” phænomena to which we have endeavoured[3000] to draw attention throughout these books, they nowhere manifest themselves with greater distinctness than here. This indomitable power, in fact, which sets at nought the two most violent agents in Nature, fire, namely, and iron, is made to yield before the blood of a he-goat.[3001] The blood, however must be no otherwise than fresh and warm; the stone, too, must be well steeped in it, and then subjected to repeated blows: and even then, it is apt to break both anvils and hammers of iron, if they are not of the very finest temper. To what spirit of research, or to what accident, are we indebted for this discovery? or what conjecture can it have been, that first led man to experiment upon a thing of such extraordinary value as this, and that, too, with the most unclean[3002] of all animals? Surely a discovery, such as this, must have been due solely to the munificence of the gods, and we must look for the reason of it in none of the elementary operations of Nature, but wholly in her will.

When, by good fortune, this stone does happen to be broken, it divides into fragments so minute as to be almost imperceptible. These particles are held in great request by engravers, who enclose them in iron, and are enabled thereby, with the greatest facility, to cut[3003] the very hardest substances known. So great is the antipathy borne by this stone to the magnet, that when placed near, it will not allow of its attracting iron; or if the magnet has already attracted the iron, it will seize the metal and drag it away from the other.[3004] Adamas, too, overcomes and neutralizes poisons, dispels delirium, and banishes groundless perturbations of the mind; hence it is that some have given it the name of “ananchites.”[3005] Metrodorus of Scepsis is the only author, that I know of, who says that this stone is found also in Germany, and in the island of Basilia,[3006] where amber is found. He says, too, that this is preferable to the stone of Arabia; but can there be any doubt that his statement is incorrect?

CHAP. 16.—-SMARAGDUS.

Next[3007] in esteem with us are the pearls of India and Arabia, of which we have already spoken in the Ninth Book,[3008] when treating of the marine productions.

(5.) The third rank, for many reasons, has been given to the smaragdus.[3009] Indeed there is no stone, the colour of which is more delightful to the eye; for whereas the sight fixes itself with avidity upon the green[3010] grass and the foliage of the trees, we have all the more pleasure in looking upon the smaragdus, there being no green in existence of a more intense colour[3011] than this. And then, besides, of all the precious stones, this is the only one that feeds the sight without satiating it. Even when the vision has been fatigued with intently viewing other objects, it is refreshed by being turned upon this stone; and lapidaries know of nothing that is more gratefully soothing to the eyes, its soft green tints being wonderfully adapted for assuaging lassitude, when felt in those organs.

And then, besides, when viewed from a distance, these stones appear all the larger to the sight, reflecting as they do, their green hues upon the circumambient air. Neither sunshine, shade, nor artificial light effects any change in their appearance; they have always a softened and graduated brilliancy; and transmitting the light with facility, they allow the vision to penetrate their interior; a property which is so pleasing, also, with reference to water. In form they are mostly concave, so as to re-unite the rays of light and the powers of vision: and hence it is, that it is so universally agreed upon among mankind to respect these stones, and to forbid their surface[3012] to be engraved. In the case, however, of the stones of Scythia and Egypt, their hardness is such, that it would be quite impossible to penetrate them. When the surface of the smaragdus is flat, it reflects the image of objects in the same manner as a mirror. The Emperor Nero used to view[3013] the combats of the gladiators upon a smaragdus.

CHAP. 17.—TWELVE VARIETIES OF THE SMARAGDUS.

Of this stone there are no less than twelve different kinds; of which the finest is the Scythian[3014] smaragdus, so called from the country where it is found. None of them has a deeper colour than this, or is more free from defects: indeed, in the same degree that the smaragdus is superior to other precious stones, the Scythian smaragdus is superior to the other varieties. Next in esteem to this, as also in locality, is the smaragdus of Bactriana.[3015] These stones are collected, it is said, in the fissures of rocks, when the Etesian[3016] winds prevail; a period at which the earth that covers them is removed, and the stones are detected by their brightness, the sands being greatly agitated by the action of the winds. These last, however, are much inferior, they say, to those of Scythia in size. The third rank is held by the stones of Egypt,[3017] which are extracted from the hills in the vicinity of Coptos, a city of Thebais.

All the other kinds are found in copper-mines, and hence it is that, of these varieties, the smaragdus of Cyprus holds the highest rank. The merit of them consists in their clear colour, which has nothing thin or diluted in it, but presents a rich and humid transparency, closely resembling the tints of the sea, in fact. Hence it is that these stones are at once diaphanous and shining, or, in other words, reflect their colours and allow the vision to penetrate within. They say that in this island, upon the tomb of a petty king named Hermias, near the fisheries[3018] there, there was formerly a lion in marble, with eyes made of smaragdi; the brilliancy of which penetrated the sea to such a degree, as to alarm the tunnies and put them to flight: a novel circumstance, which for a long time excited wonder in the fishermen, till at last the stones in the statue were changed for others.

CHAP. 18.—DEFECTS IN THE SMARAGDUS.

It will be only proper, too, seeing that the prices of these stones are so exorbitant, to point out their defects. Some defects, no doubt, are common to all of them, while others, again, like those found in the human race, are peculiar only to those of a certain country. Thus, for example, the stones of Cyprus are not all green alike, and in the same smaragdus some parts are more or less so than others, the stone not always preserving that uniform deep tint which characterizes the smaragdus of Scythia. In other instances, a shadow runs through the stone, and the colour becomes dulled thereby; the consequence of which is, that its value is depreciated; and even more so, when the colour is thin and diluted.

In consequence of the defects[3019] in these stones, they have been divided into several classes. Some of them are obscure, and are then known as “blind” stones; some have a certain density, which impairs their transparency; others, again, are mottled, and others covered with a cloud. This cloud, however, is altogether different from the shadow above mentioned; for it is a defect which renders the stone of a whitish hue, and not of a transparent green throughout; presenting, as it does, in the interior or upon the surface, a certain degree of whiteness which arrests the vision. Other defects, again, in these stones, are filaments, salt-like[3020] grains, or traces of lead ore, faults which are mostly common to them all.

Next after the kinds above described, the smaragdus of Æthiopia is held in high esteem; being found, as Juba tells us, at a distance of twenty-five days’ journey from Coptos. These are of a bright green, but are seldom to be met with perfectly clear or of an uniform colour. Democritus includes in this class the stones that are known as “herminei,” and as “Persian” stones; the former of which are of a convex, massive shape, while the latter are destitute of transparency, but have an agreeable, uniform colour, and satisfy the vision without allowing it to penetrate them; strongly resembling, in this respect, the eyes of cats and of panthers, which are radiant without being diaphanous. In the sun, he says, they lose their brilliancy, but they are radiant in the shade, the brightness of them being seen at a greater distance than in the case of other stones. One other fault, too, in all these stones is, that they often have a colour like that of honey or rancid oil, or else are clear and transparent, but not green.

These defects exist in the smaragdi of Attica,[3021] more particularly, which are found in the silver-mines there, at a place known by the name of Thoricos.[3022] These last are never so massive as the others, and are always more pleasing to the sight when viewed from a distance: lead ore, too, is often to be detected in them, or, in other words, they have a leaden appearance when looked at in the sun.[3023] One peculiarity in them is, that some of them become impaired by age, gradually lose their green colour, and are even deteriorated by exposure to the sun. Next to the stones of Attica come those of Media, a variety which presents the most numerous tints of all, and sometimes approaches sapphiros[3024] in colour. These stones are wavy,[3025] and represent various natural objects, such as poppy-heads, for example, birds, the young of animals, and feathers: all of them appear naturally of a green colour, but become improved by the application of oil. No stones of this species are of a larger size than these.

I am not aware that any of these stones[3026] are still in existence at Chalcedon, the copper mines of that locality being now exhausted: but be this as it may, they were always the smallest in size and the most inferior in value. Brittle, and of a colour far from distinctly pronounced, they resembled in their tints the feathers that are seen in the tail of the peacock or on the necks of pigeons.[3027] More or less brilliant, too, according to the angle at which they were viewed, they presented an appearance like that of veins and scales. There was another defect, also, peculiar to these stones, known as “sarcion,” from the circumstance that a kind of flesh[3028] appeared to attach itself to the stone. The mountain near Chalcedon, where these stones were gathered, is still known by the name of “Smaragdites.” Juba informs us that a kind of smaragdus, known as “cloras,”[3029] is used in Arabia as an ornament for buildings, as also the stone which by the people of Egypt is called “alabastrites.” On the same authority, too, we learn that there are several varieties of the smaragdus in the neighbouring mountains, and that stones like those of Media are found in Mount Taygetus,[3030] as also in Sicily.

CHAP. 19.—THE PRECIOUS STONE CALLED TANOS. CHALCOSMARAGDOS.