Writings About Medicinal Uses of Stones

The Middle High German didactic poem on precious stones, composed by Volmar, or Volamar, about 1250, appears to have been written as a rejoinder to a satirical poem, the work of a writer called the "Stricker" (rascal). What chiefly aroused Volmar's wrath was the fact that this irreverent personage dared to assert that a piece of colored glass set in a ring looked just as well and possessed the same virtues as a genuine precious stone of the same color. Volmar does not mince matters, and roundly declares that whoever should kill the man who wrote thus would do no sinful act. While we can scarcely recommend such drastic action, we must admit that we feel a little sympathy with the medieval champion of genuine stones against imitations.

A most interesting item recording one phase of a great tyrant's character is reported by Sir Jerome Horsey, who was entrusted with messages to and from Elizabeth of England and Ivan the Terrible of Russia. He gives, in his "Travels," a graphic recital of an interview with Ivan just before the latter's death in 1584. We retain the archaic spelling as it is reproduced in the Hakluyt publication from the original manuscript. Writing of Ivan, Horsey says: (The Travels of Sir Jerome Horsey, Hakluyt Society, London, 1856, pp. 199, 200.)

"Carried every daye in his chair into his treasure. One daye the prince beckoned me to follow. I strode emonge the rest venturously, and heard him call for som precious stones and jewells. Told the prince and nobles present before and aboute him the virtue of such and such, which I observed, and do pray I may a littell degress to declare for my own memorie sake.

'The load-stone you all know hath great and hidden vertue, without which the seas that compas the world ar not navigable, nor the bounds nor circles of the earth cannot be knowen. Mahomett, the Percians proffit, his tombe of steell hangs in their Repatta at Darbent most miraculously'--Caused the waiters to bringe a chaine of nedells towched by his load-stone, hanged all one by the other.--'This faire currell (coral) and this faire turcas you see; take in your hand; of his natur arr orient coullers: put them on my hand and arm. I am poisoned with disease: you see they shewe their virtue by the chainge of their pure culler into pall: declares my death. Reach owt my staff roiall; an unicorns horn garnished with verie fare diomondes, rubies, saphiers, emeralls and other precious stones that ar rich in vallew; cost 70 thousand marckes sterlinge of David Gower from the fowlkers of Ousborghe. Seek owt for som spiders.' Caused his phiziccians, Johannes Lloff, to scrape a circle thereof upon the tabell; putt within it one spider and so one other and died, and some other without that ran alive apace from it.--'It is too late, it will not preserve me. Behold these precious stones. This diomond is the orients richest and most precious of all other. I never affected it; yt restreyns furie and luxurie and abstinacie and chasticie; the least parcell of it in powder will poysen a horse geaven to drinck, much more a man.' Poynts at the ruby. 'Oh! this is most comfortable to the hart, braine, vigar and memorie of man, clarifies congelled and corrupt bloud.'--Then at the emerald.--'The natur of the reyn-bowe; this precious stone is an enemye to uncleanness. The saphier I greatlie delight in; yt preserves and increaseth courage, joies the hart, pleasinge to all the vitall sensis, precious and verie soveraigne for the eys, clears the sight, takes awaye bloudshott and streingthens the mussells and strings thereof.'--Then takes the onex in hand.--'All these are Gods wonderfull guifts, secreats in natur, and yet revells [reveals] them to mans use and contemplacion, as frendes to grace and vertue and enymies to vice. I fainte, carie me awaye till an other tyme.'"

Some believed that when precious stones were worn to relieve or prevent disease, it was important that the different stones should be worn on different parts of the body. According to one authority, the jacinth should be worn on the neck; the diamond, on the left arm; the sapphire, on the ring-finger; the emerald, or the jacinth, on the index-finger; and the ruby or turquoise, on either the index-finger or the little finger. (Wolffii, "Curiosus amuletorum scrutator," Francofurti et Lipsiae, 1692, p. 363; citing Rodolphus Goclenius (De peste, p. 70). There is, however, little reason to assume that these rules were generally known and observed.

That precious stones not only appealed to the eye by their beautiful colors, but also possessed a fragrant odor, was one of the many fanciful ideas regarding them. If we could believe the following circumstantial account, this was once experimentally proved:

"When precious stones are to be used in medicine, they must be pulverized until they are reduced to a powder so fine that it will not grate under the teeth, or, in the words of Galen, this powder must be as impalpable "as that which is blown into the eyes." Since this trituration is not usually operated with sufficient care by the apothecaries, I begged a medical student, who was lodging with me, to pass an entire month in grinding some of these stones. I gave him emeralds, jacinths, sapphires, rubies, and pearls, an ounce of each kind. As these stones were rough and whole, he first crushed them a little in a well-polished iron mortar, using a pestle of the same metal; afterward he employed a pestle and mortar of glass, devoting several hours each day to this work. At the end of about three weeks, his room, which was rather large, became redolent with a perfume, agreeable both from its variety and sweetness. This odor, which much resembled that of March violets, lingered in the room for more than three days. There was nothing in the room to produce it, so that it certainly proceeded from the powder of precious stones."