The New Orleans daily Democrat. [volume] (New Orleans, La.) 1877-1880, 1878-05-26
PRECIOUS STONES.
the Curious Belief Of the AncIents That
They Were Living Things.
tSt. Louis Post.l


Plato. whose vast intelligence embraced CT
many transcendental ideas, was led to exam
Inc the origin OF gems. He believed them t.
be yeritable living beings, produced by sor
OF fermentation caused by the action of 6
yIyltying spirit descending from the stars
| He described the diamond as being a kind Of
kernel found in gold, supposing that the
nobleSt and purest part of the metal had thus
been condensed into transparent mass
Inc anclents had no suspicion of the true
nature OF THIS gem, which, however has been
recognized from the earliest antiquity as
among the most precious of all stones
From it's excessive hardness the Greeks
called 1t adamant. a name recognizable in all
its modern a,,ppssllatonss, and signfying "the
lndOmltable. They attributed to It certain
properties that it can by no means Law claim
to. such as not becoming warm when heat
was applied to it, and of resisting, without
breaking the blows of a hammer To have
any true idea OF this beautiful gem, it was
should be established, or at least that the
complex phenomenon of combustion should
have received its true explanation. Even as
late as the middle of the eighteenth century,
the definition OF its composition given in
standard work on physics was-"the purcst
and finest earth, the most ethereal fire and the
most limpid water" Despite its wonderful
hardness the diamond has been engraved In
the Italian section at the Paris exposition of
1867 an engraved diamond was exhibited,
fury. 1t was the work of Jacopo or Como
da Irezzo, and was set in unique cylindri-
cal ring or gold by aid OF a movable collct
upon pivots.
To return to our ancient authors upon
gems. IheOphraStus, pupil of Aristotle.
wrote treatise upon precious stones, which,
Notwithstanding it's defects, is full of interest
He divides the stones into two categories,
male and female.
According to Cardan, precious stones are
pnDnnIprp1 hn ! |,
rant from the maternal bood'D by juices that
dlstll from precious minerals in the cavities
OF the rock; the diamond, the emerald and the
opal from gold; the sapphire from silver;
ana the carbuncle, the amethyst and the gar
net IRON IRON. 1t was admitted without cues
ton in the time of Cardan that precious
stones were living beings and not only do
they live but they suffer illness, old age and
death" WAN
He then speaks Of the different virtues DOS
sessed by precious stones. The hyacinth pre-
serves from thunder storms and from pesti-
lence, and induces sleep. 1t was also believed
that this stone increased riches. augmented
power fortified the heart and brought Joy to
the soul. he describes the turquoise, which,
worn IN ring, secures the rider from all in
Jury II he falls from his horse, and adds: 81
nave beautiful turquoise which was given
me for keepsake, bat have never cared for
the sake OF experiment to fall from my horse"
An emerald placed under the pillow of an in
valid was supposed to drive away melan-
ccholy,, dispel nightmare induce agreeable
thoughts, bring success to enterprises and
dlssipate the anxieties Of the soul The most
fantastic qualities We're formerly ascribed to
rubies. The gem called the carbuncle by the
ancents is the same as our mo FERN ruby. It
was said to furnish light to certain great ser
penis or dragons when old age had enfeebled
their eyes; they constantly carried these
magical stones between their teeth, only
lropplng them when it was necessary to eat :
Ind to drink