|
The opinion given in 1609, by Anselmus De Boot, court physician to Rudolph II of Germany, regarding the power inherent in certain precious stones, (De Boot, "Gemmarum et lapidum historia," lib. i. cap. 25, Lug. Bat., 1636.) embodies the ideas on this subject held by many of the enlightened minds of that period.
"The supernatural and acting cause is God, the good angel and the evil one; the good by the will of God, and the evil by His permission. . . . What God can do by Himself, He could do also by means of ministers, good and bad angels, who, by special grace of God and for the preservation of men, are enabled to enter precious stones and to guard men from dangers or procure some special grace for them. However, as we may not affirm anything positive touching the presence of angels in gems, to repose trust in them, or to ascribe undue powers to them, is more-especially pleasing to the spirit of evil, who transforms himself into an angel of light, steals into the substance of the little gem, and works such wonders by it that some people do not place their trust in God but in a gem, and seek to obtain from it what they should ask of God alone. Thus it is perhaps the spirit of evil which exercises its power on us through the turquoise, teaching us, little by little, that safety is not to be sought from God but from a gem."
In the next chapter of his work, De Boot, while extolling the remedial power of a certain group of stones, insists upon the falsity of many of the superstitions regarding these objects. (De Boot, "Gemmarum et lapidum historia, lib. i, cap. 26, Lug. Bat., 1636.)
That gems or stones, when applied to the body, exert an action upon it, is so well proven by the experience of many persons, that any one who doubts this must be called over-bold. We have proof of this power in the carnelian, the hematite, and the jasper, all of which when applied, check hemorrhage. . . . However, it is very necessary to observe that many virtues not possessed by gems are falsely ascribed to them.
Paracelsus, the gifted and brilliant thinker, scientist, and, we must probably add, charlatan of the sixteenth century, whose really extraordinary mental endowment was largely wasted in the effort to impress his followers with the idea that he had a mystic control over supernatural agencies, was the owner of a talismanic jewel which he asserted to be the dwelling-place of a powerful spirit named "Azoth." Some old portraits of the philosopher, or pseudo-philosopher, figure him wearing this jewel, in whose virtues we may fairly doubt that he himself believed, but which furnished part of the paraphernalia be freely employed to gain influence over the credulous. (Mackey, "Memoirs of Extraordinary Popular Delusions," London, n. d.) |
You are here:
JJKent Home >>
Precious Stones Guide Vol 9
>> Precious Stones and the Supernatural
| <<Magic Arts And Precious Stones | The Virtues of Precious Stones>> |