Various Stories of Ancient and Historical Gem Stones

In his "Colloquy on Pilgrimages," Erasmus makes one of the speakers ask, "Dost thou not see how the artificer Nature delights to represent all things by colors and forms, but more especially in gems?" He then proceeds to enumerate the various images of natural objects in stones. In the ceraunia appeared the thunder-bolt; in the pyrope, living fire; the chalazia (rock-crystal) preserved the form and coldness of the hailstone even if cast into the fire. In the emerald were shown the deep and translucent waves of the sea; the carcinia imitated the form of crabs; the echites, of vipers; the hieracites, of hawks; the geranites, of cranes. The aetites offered the image of an eagle with a white tail; the taos had the form of a peacock; the chelonites, of an asp; while the myrmecites bore within the figure of an ant. (Erasmi, "Colloquia," Lipsiae, 1713, pp. 597-8. Suggested by Pliny, lib. xxxvii, cap. 71-73.) The stones bearing this latter name were probably specimens of amber containing ants.

The Greek names of these stones enumerated by Erasmus signify their real or supposed resemblance to certain natural objects, or to something characteristic of such objects. Many of them were fossils, preserving the form of some living organism; a few were entirely fabulous; still others owed their names to some legend or myth illustrating their fancied therapeutic virtues, as in the case of the aetites (eagle-stone) said to be found in the eagle's nest. Evidently this was a quartz pebble.

The oldest magic formulas that have been preserved for us are those of the Sumerians, the founders of the ancient civilization of Babylonia. Some of them contain references to the use of precious stones as amulets, as appears in the following specimen:

Cords of light-colored wool,

Offered (?) with a pure hand,

For jaundice of the eye,

Bind on the right side (of the patient).

A lululti ring, with sparkling stones

Brought from his own land,

For inflammation of the eye,

On the little finger

Of his left (hand), place. (Morris Jastrow, "Die Religion Babyloniens und Assyriens," vol. i, Giessen, 1905.)

A curious Babylonian mythological text represents the solar diety Ninib, the son of Bel, as determining the fate of various stones by pronouncing a blessing or a curse upon them. For instance, the dolomite was blessed and declared to be fit material for the statues of kings, while a substance called the elu stone was cursed, proclaimed to be unfit for working, and doomed to disintegration. Alabaster was favored by the god, but chalcedony aroused his anger and was condemned. (Morris Jastrow, l. c., p. 462.)

In these Sumero-Assyrian inscriptions, there is also mention of two stones, the aban rame and the aban la rame, the "Stone of Love" and the "Stone of Hate" (lit. "non-love"). (Delitzsch, "Assyrisches Worterbuch," Leipzig, 1896, p. 604.) Evidently these stones were believed to excite one or other of these contradictory passions in the hearts of the wearers, and they may be compared with the stones of memory and forgetfulness in the "Gesta Romanorum."

In an ancient Egyptian burial-place at Shech Abd el-Qurna, excavated by Passalaqua, was found the mummy of a young woman. Not only was it evident from the rich ornaments adorning the body that she had been of noble birth, but it was also apparent that she must have been exceedingly beautiful in form and feature, and must have died in the flower of her age. The hair was artistically braided and adorned with twenty bronze hairpins. About her neck was a remarkably beautiful necklace composed of four rows of beads with numerous pendants representing divinities and sacred symbols. There were also two smaller necklaces with beads of gold, lapis-lazuli, and carnelian; two large jewelled ear-rings hung from her ears, and on the index-finger of her right hand was a ring set with a scarab; a gold belt garnished with lapis-lazuli and carnelians was bound about her waist and a gold bracelet adorned with semiprecious stones encircled her left wrist. In the sarcophagus was a beautiful mirror of golden-yellow bronze, and three alabaster vases, one still containing some balm or perfume, and another some galena (native lead sulphide) to be used as a cosmetic for the eyes, as well as a little ebony pencil for its application. All these objects are now in the Egyptian collection of the Berlin Museum, and they probably belong to the period of the XVIII Dynasty, about 1500 B.C.

The principal necklace was undoubtedly regarded by the fair Egyptian as an amulet of great power, but it failed to protect her from an untimely end; perhaps, however, its virtues may have aided her soul in its passage through the trials and tests imposed in the underworld. Of the numerous pendants which lent to the necklace its peculiar quality as an amulet, three, in carnelian, figure the god Bes; seven, also in carnelian, the hippopotamus-goddess Toeris, of whom there are besides two representations in lapis-lazuli; then we have a heart of lapis-lazuli; a cat of lapis-lazuli; four falcons of carnelian; one crocodile of carnelian and two of lapis-lazuli; four fish of carnelian, as well as two others of a blackish-white and of a green stone, respectively, and two scorpions of carnelian, and seven flower-forms of the same stone. The greater part of the beads in this necklace are of annular form, of gold, electrum, ivory, or lapis-lazuli; there are a few larger annular or spherical beads of carnelian, chrysoprase, and malachite, and measuring up to 3.5 cm. in diameter. ("Aegyptische Goldschmiedearbeit," ed. by Heinrich Schaffer, Berlin, 1910, pp. 25-32; necklace figured on Pl. V, other objects on Pls. V-VII.)

A necklace, from the time of the Old Empire (c. 3500 B.C.), and having for its chief adornment a turquoise pendant rudely fashioned into the form of an ibex, was found by the German Orient-Gesellschaft at Abusir el-Meleq in 1905. This necklace, the parts of which were found about the neck of a body, presumably that of a young man, was composed of rounded and annular beads of carnelian and shell, as well as of flat, perforated fragments of turquoise and almandine garnet and an approximately lozenge-shaped bead of amethyst 1.7 cm. long and 1.4 cm. broad. The chief ornament was the turquoise ibex 1.7 cm. in length and 0.9 cm. high. (Ibid., p. 14, Pl. II, figs. 3a, 3b.) This figure suggests a comparison with the animal and bird forms fashioned out of turquoise that have been found in Indian graves in Arizona and New Mexico, and it probably had the quality of a fetich, or at least of a talisman, intended to guard the wearer of the necklace from harm.

That there was in Egypt a strong inclination to use a certain particular stone for a given amulet, will be noted in the case of those inscribed with special chapters of the Book of the Dead. This is also true of amulets of certain forms. For instance, the head-rest amulet is usually of hematite as is also the carpenter's square. Of the heart amulets, numbering 47 in the rich collections of the Cairo Museum, nine are of carnelian, four of hematite, two of lapis-lazuli, and two each of green porphyry and green jasper, carnelian being thus the most favored among the more precious materials. Amulets of animal form are plentifully represented in this collection, figuring a large variety of members of the animal kingdom such as the hippopotamus, crocodile, lion, bull, cow, hare, dog-headed ape, cat, dog (somewhat doubtful), jackal, hedgehog, frog, hawk, cobra and fishes, to which list may be added a four-headed ram and a ram-headed sphinx. (See Reisner, "Catalogue generale des antiquites egyptiennes du Musee du Caire: Amulets" Le Caire, 1907.)

One of the special uses of amulets was for seafaring people, for, in ancient times especially, all who went down to the sea in ships were greatly in need of protection from the fury of the elements when they embarked in their small sailing-vessels. A fragment of a Greek Lapidary, (Pitra, "Specilegium Solesmense," Parisiis, 1855, vol. iii, p. 393.) probably written in the third or fourth century of our era, gives a list of seven amulets peculiarly adapted for this purpose. The number might suggest a connection with the days of the week, and the amulets were perhaps regarded as most efficacious when used on the respective days.

In the first were set a carbuncle and a chalcedony; this amulet protected sailors from drowning. The second had for its gem either of two varieties of the adamas,--one, the Macedonian, being likened to ice (this was probably rock-crystal), while the other, the Indian, of a silvery hue, may possibly have been our corundum; however, the Macedonian stone was regarded as the better. The third amulet bore the beryl, "transparent, brilliant, and of a sea-green hue," evidently the aquamarine beryl; this banished fear. The fourth had for its gem the druops, "white in the centre," probably the variety of agate so much favored as a protector against the spell of the Evil Eye. A coral was placed in the fifth amulet, and this was to be attached to the prow of the ship with strips of seal-skin; it guarded the vessel from winds and waves in all waters. For the sixth amulet the ophiokiolus stone was selected, most probably a kind of banded agate, for it is said to have been girdled with stripes like the body of a snake; whoever wore this had no need to fear the surging ocean. The seventh and last of these nautical amulets bore a stone called opsianos, apparently a resinous or bituminous material, possibly a kind of jet; this came from Phrygia and Galatia, and the amulet wherein it was set was a great protection for all who journeyed by sea or by river.

The ancient treatises on the magic art show that the use of amulets was considered to be indispensable for those who dared to evoke the dark spirits of the nether-world, for without the protection afforded by his amulet the magician ran the risk of being attacked by these spirits. One of these texts gives directions for preparing an amulet, or phylacterion, for the "undertaking"; for this a "sweet-smelling" loadstone should be chosen, and should be cut heart-shaped and engraved with the figure of Hecate. (Kropatschek, "De amuletorum apud antiques usu," Gryphiae, 1907 (Paris papyrus, 2630)).

A costly Chinese amulet consists of the diamond, the ruby, and the emerald, to which are added the pearl and coral; Oriental sapphire and topaz are classed with the ruby. An amulet containing these five substances is thought to combine the protecting influences of the different deities presiding over them, and is supposed to lengthen the wearer's life. Sometimes these five princely gems are wrapped up in a paper bearing the names of the respective divinities, to which is added the name of the moon, and those of the twenty-seven constellations, or houses of the moon. Such an amulet, suspended at the entrance of a house, is believed to afford protection to the inmates. (Surindro Mohun Tagore, "Mani Mala," Pt. II, Calcutta, 1881.)

In the language of the ancient Mexicans blood was called chalchiuhatl, or "water of precious stones," as the quintessence of what were regarded as the most costly things. (Seler, "Codex Borgia: Eine altmexicanische Bilderschrift," Berlin, 1904.) Although such poetic designations are in modern times mere figures of speech, among primitive peoples they are more significant, and it is highly probable that with the Aztecs, as with other peoples, the wearing of precious stones was believed to enrich the blood and thus to promote health and vigor, for "the blood is the life."

That gems had sex is asserted by the earliest writers as well as by many of those of a later date. While this must usually be understood as a poetic way of indicating a difference in shade, the darker varieties being regarded as male and the lighter ones as female, Theophrastus, the earliest Greek writer on precious stones, clearly shows that this sexual distinction was sometimes seriously made, for he declares that, wonderful as it might seem, certain gems were capable of producing offspring.

This strange idea was still prevalent in the sixteenth century, and ingenious explanations were sometimes given of the cause of this phenomenon, as appears in the following account by Rueus of germinating diamonds (Francisci Ruei, "De gemmis," Tiguri, 1566.):

"It has recently been related to me by a lady worthy of credence, that a noblewoman, descended from the illustrious house of Luxemburg, had in her possession two diamonds which she had inherited, and which produced others in such miraculous wise, that whoever examined them at stated intervals judged that they had engendered progeny like themselves. The cause of this (if it be permissible to philosophize regarding such a strange matter) would seem to be that the celestial energy in the parent stones, qualified by some one as "vis adamantifica," first changes the surrounding air into water, or some similar substance, and then condenses and hardens this into the diamond gem."

The pearl-fishers of Borneo are said to preserve carefully every ninth pearl they find, and place them in a bottle with two grains of rice for each pearl, believing, in spite of all evidence to the contrary, that these particular pearls have the power to engender and breed others. Custom and superstition require that each bottle shall have the finger of a dead man as a stopper.

Talismanic influences are taken into account in the wearing of jewelry by Orientals, two bracelets being frequently worn lest one member should become jealous of the other, thus disturbing the equilibrium of the whole organism. The piercing of the ears for ear-rings has been attributed to a desire to chastise the ear for its indiscretion in hearing secrets not intended to be heard, while costly and ornamental ear-rings are set in the ears to console those parts of our anatomy for the suffering caused by the operation of piercing. In the case of necklaces of brilliant metal, adorned with pendants of glittering stones, the talismanic purpose is to attract the beholder's gaze and thus ward off the mysterious and dangerous emanations set forth by the Evil Eye; the necklace, or its ornaments, are supposed to perform a similar service to that rendered by the lightning-rod in diverting the electric discharge.

At an early date the Christian Church registered its opposition to the practice of wearing amulets. At the Council of Laodicea, held in 355 A.D., it was decreed, in the thirty-fourth canon, that priests and clerks must be neither enchanters, mathematicians nor astrologers, and that they must not make "what are called amulets," for these were fetters of the soul, and all who wore them should be cast out of the church. (Histoire critique des pratiques superstitieuses; par un pretre de I'Oratoire," Paris, 1702.) This emphatic condemnation of the prevailing usage was not so much a protest against superstition per se as against pagan superstition, for almost if not all the amulets in use in the early centuries of our era bore heathen or heretical symbols or inscriptions. In later times the invincible tendency to wear objects of this character found expression in the use of those associated with Christian belief, such, for instance, as relics of the saints, medallions blessed by the priest, etc.

The amulets of the Jews differed in many respects from those used by Christians. The Mosaic prohibition of representations of human or animal forms imposed great restrictions upon the employment of engraved gems, and the Jew was only permitted to wear or carry those bearing merely characters of mystic or symbolic significance. In talmudic times amulets were sometimes hidden in a hollow staff, and they were believed to have more power when concealed from view in this way. They were like concealed weapons, and it was said that, as a father might give such an amulet to a son, so God had given the Law to Israel for its protection. (Blum, "Das altjudische Zauberwesen," Strassburg, 1898.)

In the Old French didactic poem, the Roman de la Rose, composed in the twelfth century, appear traces of the belief in the magic properties of precious stones. Chaucer translated this poem into English in the fourteenth century and we quote the following lines from his version. They describe the costume of the symbolical figure, Riches.

Richesse a girdle hadde upon

The bokel of it was of a stoon

Of Vertue greet, and mochel of might.

That stoon was greetly for to love,

And til a riche mannes bihove

Worth al the gold in Rome and Fryse.

The mordaunt (A projection serving to faster down the belt.) wrought in noble wyse,

Was of a stoon full precious,

That was so fyn and vertuous,

That hool a man it coude make

Of palasye and of tooth-ake. (Compleat Works of Geoffrey Chaucer, ed. Skeat, Oxford, 1849.)

At the trial, in 1232, of Hubert de Burgh, chief justiciar, one of the charges brought against him was that he had surreptitiously removed from the English treasury an exceedingly valuable stone, possessing the virtue of rendering the wearer invincible in battle, and had given it to Llewellyn, King of Wales, the enemy of his own sovereign, Henry III of England (1207-1227). (Matthaei Paris, "Historia major," London, 1684.) This must have taken place about 1228, when Henry was engaged in a war with the Welsh.

That precious stones could, under certain circumstances, lose the powers inherent in them was firmly believed in medieval times. If handled or even gazed upon by impure persons and sinners, some of the virtues of the stones departed from them. Indeed, there were those who held that precious stones, in common with all created things, were corrupted by the sin of Adam. Therefore, in order to restore their pristine virtue it might become necessary to sanctify and consecrate them, and a kind of ritual serving this purpose has been preserved in several old treatises. The subject is sufficiently curious to warrant here the repetition of one of these forms. The stones which required consecration were to be wrapped in a perfectly clean linen cloth and placed on the altar. Then three masses were to be said over them, and the priest who celebrated the third mass, clad in his sacred vestments, was to pronounce the following benediction ("Le Grand Lapidaire" of Jean de Mandeville, Vienna, 1862.):

"The Lord be with us. And with thy spirit. Let us pray. Almighty God and Father, who manifestedst thy virtue to Elias by certain senseless creatures, who orderedst Moses, Thy servant, that, among the sacerdotal vestments, he should adorn the Rational of Judgment with twelve precious stones, and showedst to John, the evangelist, the famous city of Jerusalem, essentially constituted by the same stones, and who hadst the power to raise up sons to Abraham from stones, we humbly beseech Thy majesty since Thou hast elected one of the stones to be a dwelling-place for the majesty of Thy heart, that Thou wilt deign to bless and sanctify these stones by the sanctification and incarnation of Thy name, so that they may be sanctified, blessed, and consecrated, and may receive from Thee the effect of the virtues Thou hast granted to them, according to their kinds, and which the experience of the learned has shown to have been given by Thee; so that whoever may wear them on him may feel the presence of Thy power and may be worthy to receive the gift of Thy grace and the protection of Thy power. Through Jesus Christ, Thy Son, in whom dwells all sanctification, benediction, and consecration; who lives with Thee and reigns as God for all eternity, Amen. Thanks be to God."

Konrad of Megenburg also gives this benediction in his "Buch der Natur."

Luther tells the following humorous tale of a Jew who was a vender of amulets:

There is sorcery among the Jews and their sorcerers think: "If we succeed, it is well for us; if we fail, a Christian is the sufferer; what care we for that?" ... But Duke Albert of Saxony acted shrewdly. When a Jew offered him a button, inscribed with curious characters and signs, and asserted that this button gave protection from cuts, thrusts, and shots, the Duke answered: "I will test that upon thyself, O Jew." Hereupon he led the man to the gate, hung the button at his neck, drew his own sword, and thrust the fellow through the body. "The same fate would have happened to me," said the Duke, "as has happened to thee." (Gudermann, "Das judische Unterrichtswesen," Wieu, 1873.)

Ruskin, with his keen poetic insight into the working of natural laws, saw in the formation of crystals the action of both "force of heart" and "steadiness of purpose." He thus found himself, consciously or unconsciously, in agreement with the old fancies which attributed a species of personality to precious stones. Just as the Hindu regarded an imperfectly shaped crystal as a bringer of ill luck to the owner, so Ruskin sees in such a crystal the signs of an innate "immorality," if we may use this expression. Of a crystal aggregation of this type he writes as follows: ("Ethics of the Dust," New York, 1886.)