The Curious Lore of Precious Stones / Being a description of their sentiments and folk lore, superstitions, symbolism, mysticism, use in medicine, protection, prevention, religion, and divination. Crystal gazing, birth-stones, lucky stones and talismans, astral, zodiacal, and planetary

by George Frederick Kunz

Religious Uses of Precious Stones, Pagan, Hebrew, and Christian.

THE use of stones for the decoration of images of the gods, and in religious ceremonies, more especially in those connected with the burial of the dead, can be traced back to a remote antiquity. Indeed, we may regard this religious use of precious or peculiar stones as the natural development of the original idea of their talismanic virtue. If a certain supernatural essence manifested itself in the stone, what more fit object could be imagined for the decoration of statues of the gods, or to bear engraved texts from the sacred writings, and to be placed with the bodies of the dead as “passports” to ensure the safe entry of the souls of the departed into the better land?

While this employment of mineral substances for religious purposes is practically universal, the earliest recorded instances come from Egypt, and concern the Egyptian custom of engraving texts from a very ancient ritual composition, called the Book of the Dead, upon certain semi-precious stones which had been cut into various symbolical forms. This “Book of the Dead,” composed of a number of distinct chapters, each complete in itself, describes the passage of the soul of the deceased through the realm of the dead (Amenti). Here the soul addresses the gods and other beings who receive it, and the prayers and invocations recited in the chapters are supposed to procure a safe passage and protection from all evil influences or impediments.

One of the most usual of the engraved amulets is the buckle or tie (thet). This was generally of red jasper, carnelian, or red porphyry, or else of red glass or faience or of sycamore wood. The wood was symbolical of the blood of Isis, and the amulets were sometimes engraved with the 156th chapter of the Book of the Dead; they were placed on the mummy’s neck. The formula engraved reads:

Chapter of the buckle of carnelian which is put on the neck of the deceased.

The blood of Isis, the virtue of Isis; the magic power of Isis, the magic power of the Eye are protecting this the Great one; they prevent any wrong being done to him.

This chapter is said on a buckle of carnelian dipped into the juice of ankhama, inlaid into the substance of the sycamore-wood and put on the neck of the deceased.

Whoever has this chapter read to him, the virtue of Isis protects him; Horus, the son of Isis, rejoices in seeing him, and no way is barred to him, unfailingly.[338]

Another amulet is the tet. The hieroglyph represents a mason’s table and the word signifies “firmness, stability, preservation.” These figures, made of faience, gold, carnelian, lapis-lazuli, and other materials, were placed on the neck of the mummy to afford protection.[339]

The “papyrus scepter,” uat, is usually cut from matrix-emerald or made of faience of similar hue. Uat means “verdure, flourishing, greenness”; placed on the neck of the mummy it was regarded as emblematic of the eternal youth it was hoped the deceased would enjoy in the realm of the dead. In the 159th chapter of the Book of the Dead, we read of an uat of matrix-emerald; it was believed to be the gift of Thoth, serving to protect the limbs of the deceased.[340]

The amulet representing the pillow, urs, was generally made of hematite. The 166th chapter of the Book of the Dead is sometimes engraved thereon. Dr. Budge renders this as follows:

Rise up from non-existence, O prostrate one! They watch over thy head at the exalted horizon. Thou overthrowest thine enemies; thou triumphest over what they do against thee, as Horus, the avenger of his father, this Osiris[341] has commanded to be done for thee. Thou cuttest off the heads of thine enemies; never shall they carry off from thee thy head (?). Verily Osiris maketh slaughter at the coming forth of the heads of his enemies; may they never remove his head from him.

Of all these amulets, the type most frequently encountered has the shape of a heart, ab. These are found of carnelian, green jasper, basalt, lapis-lazuli, and other hard materials. The heart, regarded in ancient Egypt as the seat of life, was the object of especial care after death. Enclosed in a special receptacle it was buried with the mummy, and the belief was that only after it had been weighed in the balance of the underworld, against the symbol of law, could it regain its place in the body of the deceased. The heart was symbolically represented by the scarab.[342]

A fine example of a heart amulet shows on one side the figure of the goddess Neith with the pennu bird or phœnix, an emblem of the resurrection, and bears inscribed the chapter of the heart.[343]

The following extract from the Book of the Dead treats of the formula to be recited over a funeral scarab cut from a hard stone, perhaps the lapis-lazuli. Egyptian tradition assigned this chapter to the reign of Semti, the fifth king of the 1st Dynasty, about 4400 B.C.[344]

Chapter of not allowing a man’s heart to oppose him in the divine regions of the nether world.

My heart which came from my mother, my heart necessary for my existence on earth, do not rise up against me, do not testify as an adversary against me among the divine chiefs in regard to what I have done before the gods; do not separate from me before the great lord of Amenti. Hail to thee, O heart of Osiris, dwelling in the West! Hail to you, gods of the braided beard, august by your sceptre! Speak well of the Osiris N; make him prosper by Nehbka. I am reunited with the earth, I am not dead in Amenti. There I am a pure spirit for eternity.

To be said over a scarabæus fashioned from a hard stone, coated with gold, and placed on the heart of the man after he has been anointed with oil. The following words should be said over him as a magic charm: “My heart which came from my mother, my heart is necessary for me in my transformations.”

Take your aliments, pass around the turquoise basin, and go to him who is in his temple and from whom the gods proceed.

The most ancient inscription of this especially favorite text is on the plinth of a scarab in the British Museum bearing the cartouche of Sebak-em-saf, a king of the XIV Dynasty, 2300 B.C. It is made from an exceptionally fine piece of green jasper, the body and head of the beetle being carefully carved out of the stone, while the legs are of gold, carved in relief. The scarab is inserted into a gold base of tabloid form, and was found at Kurna (Thebes) by Mr. Salt. As green jasper was believed to possess altogether exceptional virtues as an amulet, this particular scarab was probably regarded as especially sacred.

AMBER HEART-SHAPED AMULET.
Italian, seventeenth century.

AN INSCRIBED SCARAB (GREEN STONE) OF THE TYPE KNOWN AS A HEART-SCARAB. DATE ABOUT 1300 B.C.

The Scribe Pa-bak: Let him say: “O Heart that I received from my mother (to be said twice), O Heart that belongs to my spirit, rise not against me as witness, oppose me not before the judges, contradict me not in the presence of the Guardian of the Scales. Thou art the spirit that is in my body, Khnum that makest sound my limbs. When thou comest to the place of judgment whither we go, cause not my name to be rejected by the assessors, but let the pronouncement of judgment be favorable, and such as causes joy to the heart.”

It appears to have been the rule to engrave certain special chapters of the Book of the Dead, among those referring to the heart, upon particular stones. Thus, for instance, the 26th chapter was engraved on lapis-lazuli, the 27th upon feldspar, the 30th upon serpentine, and the 29th upon carnelian.[345] This may perhaps have been originally due to some association of the god principally invoked in the text with the precious substance upon which the text was engraved.

The form of an eye, fashioned out of lapis-lazuli and ornamented with gold, constituted an amulet of great power; it was inscribed with the 140th chapter of the Book of the Dead. On the last day of the month Mechir, an offering “of all things good and holy” was to be made before this symbolic eye, for on that day the supreme god Ra was believed to place such an image upon his head. Sometimes these eyes were made of jasper, and could then be laid upon any of the limbs of a mummy.[346]

Of the image of Truth, made from a lapis-lazuli and worn by the Egyptian high-priest, Ælian aptly says that he would prefer the judge should not bear Truth about with him, fashioned and expressed in an image, but rather in his very soul.[347]

Among the Assyrian texts giving the formulæ for incantations and various magical operations, there is one which treats of an ornament composed of seven brilliant stones, to be worn on the breast of the king as an amulet; indeed, so great was the virtue of these stones that they were supposed to constitute an ornament for the gods also. The text, as rendered by Fossey, is as follows:[348]

Incantation. The splendid stones! The splendid stones! The stones of abundance and of joy.

Made resplendent for the flesh of the gods.

The ḥulalini stone, the sirgarru stone, the ḥulalu stone, the sându stone, the uknû stone.

The dushu stone, the precious stone elmêshu, perfect in celestial beauty.

The stone of which the pingu is set in gold.

Placed upon the shining breast of the king as an ornament.

Azagsud, high-priest of Bêl, make them shine, make them sparkle!

Let the evil one keep aloof from the dwelling!

The names of two of these gems, the ḥulalu and the ḥulalini, suggest that they were of similar class. As the fundamental meaning of the root whence the names are formed is “to perforate,” it is barely possible that we have here the long-sought Assyrian designation for the pearl, which was commonly regarded in ancient times as a stone. In Arabic the perforated pearl has a special name to distinguish it from the unperforated, or “virgin pearl.” All we know of the sându is that it must have been a dark-colored stone. The uknû, however, is almost certainly the lapis-lazuli. It is often mentioned in the Tel el Amarna tablets as having been among the gifts sent by the kings of Babylonia and Assyria to the Pharaohs of Egypt, and also by the latter to friendly Asiatic monarchs. Of the sirgarru and dushu stones nothing is known, but the elmêshu, the seventh in the list, was evidently regarded as the most brilliant and splendid of all; indeed, Prof. Friedrich Delitzsch hazards the conjecture that it is the diamond. In any case this stone must have been set in rings and considered very valuable, for in an Assyrian text occurs the following passage: “Like an elmêshu ring may I be precious in thine eyes.”[349] The fact that this stone is described as having “a celestial beauty” might incline us to believe that it was a sapphire.

The idea of this mystic ornament, composed of seven gems, probably originated in Babylonia, where the number seven was looked upon as especially sacred. As we shall see, there is some reason to attribute a Hindu origin to the nine gems, “the covering” of the King of Tyre, enumerated by Ezekiel, while the breastplate on the ephod of the Hebrew high-priest, with its twelve stones, symbolizing the twelve months of the year, appears to be of later date, and seems to belong to the time of the return from the Babylonian Captivity and the building of the second temple. Certainly, the historic and prophetic books of the Old Testament know nothing of it, although the Urim and Thummim are mentioned and the elaborate description given in Exodus is generally regarded by Biblical scholars as belonging to the so-called “Priestly Codex,” the latest part of the Pentateuch, gradually evolved during the Exile and given its final form in the fifth century B.C.

In the very ancient Assyrio-Babylonian epic narrative of the descent of the goddess Ishtar to Hades, the guardian of the infernal regions obliges the goddess to lay aside some part of her clothing and ornaments at each of the seven gates through which she passes. At the fifth, we are told that she stripped off her girdle of aban alâdi, or stones which aided parturition.[350] It has been asserted, and perhaps with some reason, that of the many mineral substances supposed to possess this virtue, jade (nephrite) or jadeite was the earliest known.

The Babylonian legends also tell of trees on which grow precious stones. In the Gilgamesh epic a mystic cedar tree is described. This grew in the Elamite sanctuary of Irnina and was under the guardianship of the Elamite king Humbaba. Of this tree an inscription relates:

It produces samtu-stones as fruit;

Its boughs hang with them, glorious to behold;

The crown of it produces lapis-lazuli;

Its fruit is costly to gaze upon.

Another tree bearing precious stones was seen by the hero Gilgamesh, after he had passed through darkness for the space of twelve hours. This must have been a most resplendent object, to judge from the following description on a cuneiform tablet:[351]

It bore precious stones for fruits;

Its branches were glorious to the sight;

The twigs were crystals;

It bore fruit costly to the sight.

One of the rarest and most significant specimens illustrating the use of valuable stones for religious ceremonial purposes in the pagan world is in the Morgan-Tiffany collection. It is an ancient Babylonian axe-head made of banded agate. So regular, indeed, is the disposition of the layers in this agate that one might be justified in denominating it an onyx. Its prevailing hue is what may be called a “deer-brown”; some white splotches now apparent are evidently due to the action of fire or that of some alkali. This axe-head bears an inscription in archaic cuneiform characters, and presumably in the so-called Sumerian tongue, that believed to have been spoken by the founders of the Babylonian civilization. The form of the inscription indicates that the object dates from an earlier period than 2000 B.C.

BABYLONIAN AXE HEAD.
Agate, with inscription. Morgan collection, American Museum of Natural History, New York.

While the characters are clearly cut and can be easily deciphered, the inscription is nevertheless exceedingly difficult to translate. It is evident that the axe-head was a votive offering to a divinity, probably on the part of a certain governor named Adduggish; but whether the divinity in question was Shamash (the sun-god), or the god Adad, or some other member of the Babylonian pantheon, cannot be determined with any finality. The French assyriologist, François Lenormant, who first described this axe-head in 1879, and Prof. Ira Maurice Price, of the Semitic Department of Chicago University, both, admit that it may have been consecrated to Adad. As the weather-god, the thunderer, the axe-symbol would have been more especially appropriate to him in view of the usage, almost universal among primitive peoples, of associating stone axe-heads or axe-shaped stones with the thunderbolt, and hence with the divinity who was believed to have launched it toward the earth.

This Sumerian axe-head measures 134.5 mm. in length (5.3 inches), 35.5 mm. in width (1.4 inches), and 31 mm. in thickness (1.22 inches). It was originally secured by Cardinal Stefano Borgia (1731-1804), for some time secretary of the College of the Propaganda in Rome, who probably acquired it from some missionary to the East. From the cardinal’s family it passed for 15,000 lire ($3000) to the Tyszkiewicz Collection, and when the objects therein comprised were disposed of at public sale, the writer purchased it for the American Museum of Natural History in New York, April 16, 1902.[352]

At Alicante, in Spain, cut upon the pedestal of an ancient statue, supposed to have been that of Isis, was found an inscription giving a list of the offerings dedicated by divine command, by a certain Fabia Fabiana in honor of her granddaughter. Evidently the fond grandmother had given of her best and choicest jewels which were used to adorn the statue. They consisted of a diadem set with a “unio” (a large round pearl) and six smaller pearls, two emeralds, seven beryls, two rubies, and a hyacinth. In each ear of the statue was inserted an ear-ring bearing a pearl and an emerald; about the neck was hung a necklace consisting of four rows of emeralds and pearls, eighteen of the former and thirty-six of the latter. Two circlets bound around the ankles contained eleven beryls and two emeralds, while two bracelets were set with eight emeralds and eight pearls. The adornment was completed by four rings, two bearing emeralds, while two, placed on the little finger, were set with diamonds. On the sandals were eight beryls.[353]

A notable instance of an antique votive offering is the necklace of valuable precious stones dedicated to the statue of Vesta. The Byzantine historian Zosimus attributes the tragic end of Stilicho’s widow, Serena, to her having despoiled the image of Vesta of this costly ornament, and finds a sort of poetic justice in the manner of her death, since she was strangled by a cord which encircled her neck.

It is not only in the works of the Fathers of the Christian Church that we find precious stones used as similes of religious virtue, in Buddhist writings also we have examples of this. In the “Questions of King Milinda,” composed perhaps as early as the third century of our era, occur the following passages:[354]

Just, O King, as the diamond is pure throughout; just so, O King, should the strenuous Bhikshu, earnest in effort, be perfectly pure in his means of livelihood. This, O King, is the first quality of the diamond he ought to have.

And again, O King, as the diamond cannot be alloyed with other substance; just so, O King, should the strenuous Bhikshu, earnest in effort, never mix with wicked men as friends. This, O King, is the second quality of the diamond he ought to have.

And again, O King, just as the diamond is set together with the most costly gems; just so, O King, should the strenuous Bhikshu, earnest in effort, associate with those of the highest excellence, with men who have entered the first or second or third stage of the Noble Path, with the jewel treasures of the Arahats, of the recluses of the threefold wisdom, or of the sixfold insight. This, O King, is the third quality of the diamond he ought to have. For it was said, O King, by the Blessed one,[355] the god over all gods, in the Sutta Nipâta:

Let the pure associate with the pure,

Ever in recollection firm;

Dwelling harmoniously wise,

Thus shall ye put an end to griefs.

The description of the New Jerusalem in the book of Revelations finds a curious parallel in the Hindu Puranas. Here we are told that the divine Krishna, the eighth incarnation of Vishnu, took up his abode in the wonderful city Devârakâ, and was visited there by the various orders of gods and geniuses.[356]

Gods, Asuras, Gandharas, Kinnaras began to pour into Dwáraká, to see Krishna and Valaráma.

Some descended from the sky, some from their cars—and alighting underneath the banyan tree, looked on Dwáraká, the matchless.

The city was square,—it measured a hundred yojonas, and over all, was decked in pearls, rubies, diamonds, and other gems.

The city was high,—it was ornamented with gems; and it was furnished with cupolas of rubies and diamonds,—with emerald pillars, and with court-yards of rubies. It contained endless temples. It had cross-roads decked with sapphires, and highways blazing with gems. It blazed like the meridian sun in summer.

As compared with the description in Revelations we cannot fail to note the lack of definiteness. Instead of the well-ordered scheme of color as represented by the twelve precious stones dedicated to the twelve tribes of Israel, the mystic Hindu city is simply a gorgeous mass of the most brilliant gems known in India.

The poetic description of the royal city Kusavati, given in the Maha Sudassana Suttanta, may perhaps have originated in some tradition regarding Ecbatana or Babylon. Seven ramparts surrounded Kusavati, the materials being respectively gold, silver, beryl, crystal, agate, coral and (for the last) “all kinds of gems.” In these ramparts were four gates—one of gold, one of silver, one of crystal and one of jade—and at each gate seven pillars were fixed, each three or four times the height of a man and composed of the seven precious substances that constituted the ramparts. Beyond the ramparts were seven rows of palm trees, the fourth row having trunks of silver and leaves and fruit of gold; then followed palms of beryl, with leaves and fruit of beryl; agate palms, whose fruit and leaves were of coral, and coral palms, with leaves and fruit of agate; lastly, the palms whose trunks were composed of “all kinds of gems,” had leaves and fruits of the same description, “and when these rows of palm trees were shaken by the wind, arose a sound sweet and pleasant, and charming and intoxicating.”[357]

In Greek literature also there is a “gem-city,”—namely, the city of the Islands of the Blessed, described by Lucian in his Vera Historia.[358] The walls of this city were of emerald, the temples of the gods were formed of beryl, and the altars therein of single amethysts of enormous size. The city itself was all of gold as a fit setting for these marvellous gems.

Hindu mythology tells of a wonderful tank formed of crystal, the work of the god Maya. Its bottom and sides were encrusted with beautiful pearls and in the centre was a raised platform blazing with the most gorgeous precious stones. Although it contained no water, the transparent crystal produced the illusion of water, and those who approached the tank were tempted to plunge into it and take a refreshing bath in what appeared to be clear, fresh water.[359]

The Kalpa Tree of Hindu religion, a symbolical offering to the gods, is described by Hindu poets as a glowing mass of precious stones. Pearls hung from its boughs and beautiful emeralds from its shoots; the tender young leaves were corals, and the ripe fruit consisted of rubies. The roots were of sapphire; the base of the trunk of diamond, the uppermost part of cat’s-eye, while the section between was of topaz. The foliage (except the young leaves) was entirely formed of zircons.[360]

The Chinese Buddhist pilgrim Heuen Tsang, who visited India between 629 and 645 A.D., tells of the wonderful “Diamond Throne” which, according to the legend, had once stood near the Tree of Knowledge, beneath whose spreading branches Gautama Buddha is said to have received his supreme revelation of truth. This throne had been constructed in the age called the “Kalpa of the Sages”; its origin was contemporaneous with that of the earth, and its foundations were at the centre of all things; it measured one hundred feet in circumference, and was made of a single diamond. When the whole earth was convulsed by storm or earthquake this resplendent throne remained immovable. Upon it the thousand Buddhas of the Kalpa had reposed and had fallen into the “ecstasy of the diamond.” However, since the world has passed into the present and last age, sand and earth have completely covered the “Diamond Throne,” so that it can no longer be seen by human eye.[361]

In the Kalpa Sutra, written in Prakrit, one of the sacred books of the Jains, the rivals of the Buddhists, it is said that Harinegamesi, the divine commander of the foot troops, seized fourteen precious stones, the chief of which was vajra, the diamond, and rejecting their grosser particles, retained only the finer essence to aid him in his transformations. In the same sutra the following glowing description is given of the adornment of the surpassingly beautiful goddess Sri:[362]

On all parts of her body shone ornaments and trinkets, composed of many jewels and precious stones, yellow and red gold. The pure cup-like pair of her breasts sparkled, encircled by a garland of Kunda flowers in which glittered a string of pearls. She wore strings of pearls made by clever and diligent artists, strung with wonderful strings, a necklace of jewels with a string of Dinaras, and a trembling pair of ear-rings, touching her shoulders, diffused a brilliancy; but the united beauties and charms of these ornaments were only subservient to the loveliness of her face.

As engraved decoration of a fine Chinese vase of white jade with delicate crown markings, appear eight storks, each of which bears in its beak an attribute of one of the Eight Taoist Immortals. Thus we have the double gourd as attribute of the most powerful of these demi-gods known as “Li with the Iron Crutch,” whose aid is sought by magicians and astrologers; the magic sword, with which Lu T’ung-pin vanquished the spirits of evil that roamed through the Chinese Empire in the form of terrible dragons; the basket of flowers, attribute of Lan Ts’ai-ho, the patron of gardeners and florists; the royal fan used by Han Chung-li, of the Chow Dynasty (1122-220 B.C.), to call again to life the spirits of the departed; the lotus flower, emblematic of the virgin Ho Hsien-Ku, venerated somewhat as a patron saint by Chinese housewives, and who acquired the gift of immortal life by the help of a powder of pulverized jade and mother-of-pearl; the bamboo tubes and rods with which the mighty necromancer Chang Kuo, patron of artists, evoked the souls of the dead; the flute of the musicians’ patron, Han Hsiang-tzu, who owed his immortality to his craft in stealthily entering the Taoist paradise and securing a peach from the sacred tree of life; and, lastly, the castanets of Tsao Kuo-chin, especially revered by Chinese actors.

The prevailing belief in India, that treasures offered to the images or shrines of the gods will bring good fortune to the generous donor, finds expression in many ancient and modern Hindu writings. In the Rig Veda it is said that “by giving gold the giver receives a life of light and glory.” In the Samaveda Upanishad we read: “Givers are high in Heaven. Those who give horses live conjointly with the sun; givers of gold enjoy eternal life; givers of clothes live in the moon.” Another text (Hâiti Smriti) reads:[363]

Coral in worship will subdue all the three worlds. He who worships Krishna with rubies will be reborn as a powerful emperor; if with a small ruby, he will be born a king. Offering emeralds will produce Gyana or Knowledge of the Soul and of the Eternal. If he worships with a diamond, even the impossible, or Nirvâna, that is Eternal Life in the highest Heaven, will be secured. If with a flower of gold a man worships for a month, he will get as much wealth as Kuvera, the Lord of Rubies, and will hereafter attain to Nirvâna and to Muskwa, or Salvation.

At Multan, one of the most ancient cities of India, situated in the Punjab, 164 miles southwest of Lahore, there was in the Hindu temple an idol having for eyes two great pearls. The eyes of the rude image of Jagganath at Puri, in Bengal (Orissa), are said to have at one time been formed of precious stones, as were also those of the idols of Vishnu at Chandernagore and in the great seven-walled temple at Srirangam, whence appears to have come the Orloff diamond.

In ceremonial worship the Hindus recognize sixteen offerings, the ninth consisting of gems and jewelry, and a divine assurance of adequate return to the giver appears in the Bhagavat Purana, where Krishna says, “Whatever is best and most valued in this world and that which is most dear to you should be offered to me, and it will be received back in immense and endless quantity.” On certain appointed days the holy images are decorated with the choicest garments and the richest jewelry in the temple treasury; this is especially the case on the day celebrated as the birthday of the respective divinity. However, the gifts are believed to retain their sacred character as dedicated objects only for a comparatively brief period, varying from a month or more for garments and vestments, to ten or twelve years for jewels, such as the naoratna or the panchratna, the prized and revered jewels, composed respectively of nine and five gems. The panchratna usually consists of gold, diamond, sapphire, ruby, and pearl. After the gifts have ceased to be worthy of use in the temples, they may be disposed of to defray the expenses of the foundation, including the cost of supporting the numerous priests and attendants. As the objects still retain their sacred associations, they are eagerly bought by pious Hindus, who undoubtedly regard them as valuable talismans. Thus they not only serve to bring blessings upon the donors, but also constitute one of the chief sources of income for the temples.[364]

One of the oldest and perhaps the most interesting talismanic jewel is that known as the naoratna or nararatna, the “nine-gem” jewel. It is mentioned in the old Hindu ratnaçastras, or treatises on gems, for example, in the Nararatnaparîkshâ, where it is described as follows:[365]

Manner of composing the setting of a ring:

In the centre	The Sun	The Ruby
To the East	Venus	The Diamond
To the Southeast	The Moon	The Pearl
To the South	Mars	The Coral
To the Southwest	Râhu	The Jacinth
To the West	Saturn	The Sapphire
To the Northeast	Jupiter	The Topaz
To the North	The descending node	The Cat’s-eye
To the Northwest	Mercury	The Emerald
Such is the planetary setting.

From this description we learn that the jewel was designed to combine all the powerful astrological influences. The gems chosen to correspond with the various heavenly bodies, and with the aspects known as the ascending and descending nodes, differ in some cases from those selected in the West. For instance, the emerald is here assigned to Mercury, whereas in Western tradition this stone was usually the representative of Venus, although it is sometimes associated with Mercury also.[366] On the other hand, the diamond is dedicated to Venus, instead of to the Sun as in the Western world.

MANI MÁLÁ, OR CHAIN OF GEMS.

Comprising diamond, ruby, cat’s-eye, pearl, zircon, coral, emerald, topaz, sapphire, chrysoberyl, garnet, carnelian, quartz and rock-crystal. A pendant is the naoratna, or “nine-gem” ornament, suspended from which is a pear-shaped pearl.

In possession of the late Rajah Sir Surindro Mohun Tagore, of Calcutta. From his “Mani Málá,” Calcutta, 1879, Vol. I, iv-506 pp., 2 plates, portrait and plate; Vol. II, xiv + ii 507-1046 pp. Contains 49 figures on 10 plates.

In the naoratna the five gems known to the Hindus as the mahâratnâni, or “great gems,”—the diamond, pearl, ruby, sapphire, and emerald,—were, as we see, associated with the Sun and Moon, Venus, Mercury, and Saturn, while the four lesser gems (uparatnâni)—namely, the jacinth, topaz, cat’s-eye, and coral—represent Mars, Jupiter, Râhu, and the descending node. The two last named are very important factors in astrological calculations and are often called the Dragon’s Head and the Dragon’s Tail. These designations signify the ascending and descending nodes, indicating the passage of the ecliptic by the Moon in her ascent above and descent below this arbitrary plane.

In three somewhat obscure passages of the Rig Veda there are references to the seven ratnas. Whether these were gems cannot be determined, since the primary meaning of the word ratna is “a precious object,” not necessarily a precious stone; but it is possible that we may have here an allusion to some earlier form of talisman, in which only the Sun, Moon, and the five planets were represented.

It is easy to understand that such a talisman as the naoratna, combining the favorable influences of all the celestial bodies supposed to govern the destinies of man, must have been highly prized, and we may well assume that only the rich and powerful could own this talisman in a form ensuring its greatest efficacy. For the Hindus believed that the virtue of every gem depended upon its perfection, and they regarded a poor or defective stone as a source of unhappiness and misfortune.

In modern times this talisman is sometimes differently composed. A specimen shown in the Indian Court of the Paris Exposition of 1878 consisted of the following stones: coral, topaz, sapphire, ruby, flat diamond, cut diamond, emerald, amethyst, and carbuncle. Here the cut diamond, amethyst, and carbuncle take the place of the jacinth, pearl, and cat’s-eye.

Instead of uniting the different planetary gems in a single ring, they have sometimes been set separately in a series of rings to be worn successively on the days originally named after the celestial bodies. We read in the life of Apollonius of Tyana (first century A.D.) by Philostratus: “Damis also relates that Iarchas gave to Apollonius seven rings named after the planets, and the latter wore these, one by one, in the order of the weekdays.”[367] Although it is not expressly stated that the appropriate stones were set in the rings, the custom of the time makes it probable that this was the case.

NINE GEMS.

English	Sanskrit	Burmese	Chinese (Canton)	Arabic
Diamond	Vajra	Chein	Chun-syak	Mâs
Ruby	Manikya	Budmiya	Se-fla-yu-syak	Yâkût bihar
Cat’s-eye	Vaidûrya	Châno	Mâu-ji gan	Ain al-hirr
Zircon	Gomeda	Gomok	Pi-si	Hajar yamânî
Pearl	Muktâ	Pa-le	Chun-ti	Lûlû
Coral	Pravâla	Tadâ	Sau-ho-chi	Murjân
Emerald	Marakata	Mujâ	Luk-syak	Zumurrud
Topaz	Pushyaraga	Outfiyâ	Si-lang-syak	Yâkût al-azrak
Sapphire	Nîla	Nîlâ	Chang-syak	Yâkût al-açfar

Among the Burmese the value for occult purposes of the nine gems composing the naoratna, or nararatna, is strictly determined in the following order: first, the ruby; second, the diamond, or rock-crystal; third, the pearl; fourth, the coral; fifth, the topaz; sixth, the sapphire; seventh, the cat’s-eye; eighth, the amethyst; and ninth, the emerald.[368] That the ruby, diamond and pearl should occupy places of honor is quite natural, but the relegation of the sapphire to sixth place, after coral and topaz, seems to be a rather unfair treatment of this beautiful stone.

SCULPTURED JADE MOUNTAIN.

Probably the largest mass of sculptured jade in existence. The design commemorates the meetings of a literary club of the fourth century. The Chinese characters (colored red) in the side of the cliff express the famous Lan Ting Hsu, or “Epidendron Pavilion Essay,” by Wang Hi-che (A.D. 321-379), ever since used by the Chinese as a model of elegant caligraphy, and were engraved directly from the autograph of the Emperor Ch’ien-lung, written by him in 1784. Height 23 inches, width 38½ x 18½ inches; weight 640 pounds. From the Summer Palace, west of Peking. Collection of T. D. Walker, of Minneapolis, Minn.

The yellow girdles worn by the Chinese emperors of the Manchu dynasty were variously ornamented with precious stones according to the different ceremonial observances at which the emperor presided. For the services in the Temple of Heaven, the very appropriate choice of lapis-lazuli ornaments was made; for the Altar of Earth, yellow jade was favored; for a sacrifice on the Altar of the Sun, the gems were red corals, while white jade was selected for the ceremonies before the Altar of the Moon. Jade of different colors was used for the six precious tablets employed in the worship of heaven and earth and the four cardinal points. For the worship of Heaven there was the dark-green round tablet; for that of Earth, an octagonal tablet of yellow jade. The East was worshipped with a green pointed tablet; the West was worshipped with the white “tiger-tablet”; the North with a black, semi-circular tablet, and the South with a tablet of red jade.[369]

Of all the Chinese works on jade the most interesting and remarkable is the Ku yü t’ou pu or “Illustrated Description of Ancient Jade,” a catalogue divided into a hundred books and embellished with upward of seven hundred figures. It was published in 1176, and lists the magnificent collection of jade objects belonging to the first emperor of the Southern Sung dynasty. One of the treasures here described was a four-sided plaque of pure white jade over two feet in height and breadth, and it was regarded as of altogether exceptional value, for on it was a design miraculously engraven. This was a figure, seated on a mat, with a flower-vase on its left and an alms-bowl on the right, in the midst of rocks enveloped in clouds. The figure was an image of the Buddhist saint, Samantabahadra, and the plaque is said to have been washed out of a sacred cave in the year 1068, by a violent and mysterious current.[370]

Jade talismans are very popular at the present day in the Mohammedan world, and among the Turks they are so highly prized as heirlooms that it is difficult to secure any of them. There is an orthodox Mohammedan sect, whose members call themselves Pekdash, and who during their whole lifetime carry about with them a flat piece of jade as a protection against injury or annoyance of every kind.[371]

The four rain-making gods are shown wearing necklaces of coral and turquoise in the ceremonial sand-paintings of the Navajos. These four gods are respectively colored to denote the four cardinal points; black for North, blue for South, yellow for West, and white for East. The whole painting, measuring nine by thirteen feet, is guarded on three sides by magic wands; toward the East it is left unprotected, as only good spirits are believed to dwell in this direction. Each of the rain-gods carries suspended from his right wrist an elaborately decorated tobacco pouch, bearing the figure of a stone pipe. The Navajos believe that in this pouch the god places a ray of sunlight with which he lights his pipe; when he smokes, clouds form in the sky and the rain descends. In the sand-picture representing the God of the Whirlwind this divinity also wears ear-pendants and a necklace of turquoise.[372]

Of the turquoise in Aztec times we have the testimony of the missionary Bernardino de Sahagun that one variety, presumably that regarded as the finest and most attractive, bore the name teuxivitl, which signified “turquoise of the gods.” No one was allowed either to own or wear this as it was exclusively devoted to the service of the gods, whether as a temple offering, or for the decoration of the divine images. Sahagun describes this turquoise as “fine, unspotted and very clear. It was very rare and was brought to Mexico from afar. Some specimens were of rounded shape, like a hazel-nut cut in half; others were broad and flat, and some were pitted as though in a state of decomposition.”[373]

The god of fire, Xiuhtecutli, or Ixçocauhqui, presided over the ceremony of piercing the ears of the young boys and girls. The image of this god was decorated with ear-rings encrusted with a mosaic of turquoise. He held in his left hand a buckler on which were five large green stones called chalchiuitl (jadeite), placed in the form of a cross on a plate of gold almost covering the shield.[374]

At the time of the Spanish Conquest an immense emerald, almost as large as an ostrich egg, was adored by the Peruvians in the city of Manta. This “emerald goddess” bore the name of Umiña, and, like some of the precious relics of the Christian world, was only exhibited on high feast days, when the Indians flocked to the shrine from far and near, bringing gifts to the goddess. The wily priests especially recommended the donation of emeralds, saying that these were the daughters of the goddess, who would be well pleased to see her offspring. In this way an immense store of emeralds rewarded the efforts of the priests, and on the conquest of Peru all these fine stones fell into the hands of Pedro de Alvarado,[375] Garcilasso de la Vega, and their companions. The mother emerald, however, had been so cleverly concealed by the priests of the shrine that the Spaniards never succeeded in gaining possession of it. Many of the other emeralds were destroyed because of the ignorance and stupidity of some of their new owners, who, supposing that the test of a true emerald was its ability to withstand hard blows, laid the stones on an anvil and hammered them to pieces. The old and entirely false notion that the genuine diamond could endure this treatment may have suggested the unfortunate test.

Garcilasso likens the growth of the emerald in its mine to that of a fruit on a tree, and he believed that it gradually acquired its beautiful green hue, that part of the crystal nearest the sun being the first to acquire color. He notes an interesting specimen found in Peru, half of which was colorless like glass, while the other half was a brilliant green; this he compares with a half-ripened fruit.[376]

VOTIVE ADZE OF JADEITE FROM MEXICO.
a, Front view. b, Side view. c, Rear view. Kunz Collection, American Museum of Natural History, New York. 10¹³/₁₆ × 6 × 4⅝ inches, Weight, 19 pounds Troy.

The remarkable jade adze, generally known as the “Kunz adze,” was found in Oaxaca, Mexico, brought to the United States about 1890, and is now in the American Museum of Natural History, New York. Of a light greenish-gray hue, with a slight tinge of blue, this jade artefact is 272 mm. long (10¹³/₁₆ inches), 153 mm. wide (6 inches) and 118 mm. thick (4⅝ inches); its weight is 229.3 Troy ounces, nearly sixteen pounds avoirdupois. Rudely, but not unskilfully, carved upon its face is a grotesque human figure. Four small, shallow depressions, one under each eye and one near each hand, may have served to hold in place small gold films, but no trace of gold decoration is now extant. In its mechanical execution this adze offers evidence of considerable skill on the part of the Aztec lapidary, the polish equalling that of modern workers. In the fact that a large piece, which must apparently have weighed at least two pounds, has evidently been cut out of this implement by some one of its Indian owners, we can see a proof of the talismanic power ascribed to jadeite in Aztec times, for there can be little doubt that nothing less than a belief in the great virtue of jadeite coupled with the rarity of the material could have induced the mutilation of what must have been regarded in its time as a remarkable work of art.[377]

The source of the prehistoric jade (nephrite and jadeite) found in Europe, and also of that worked into ornaments by the Indians before the Spanish Conquest of America, was long the subject of contention among mineralogists and archæologists. In Germany this question was denominated the Nephritfrage, and the most notable contribution to the discussion was the great scientific and scholarly work issued by Heinrich Fischer.[378] His conclusion was that as there was no evidence of the existence of these minerals outside of a few localities in Asia, the European and American supply must have been brought to these parts of the world from Asia, and that hence the presence of these jade artefacts in America clearly pointed to commercial intercourse at an early period between the American continent and Asia, and might be regarded as offering a strong argument in favor of an Asiatic origin for an American civilization. According to this theory the prehistoric jade objects found in Europe must have had a similar source, and would constitute a proof of the existence of traffic with remote points in Asia at a date long previous to that commonly accepted.

This view was strongly opposed by Prof. A. B. Meyer, of Dresden, and recent discoveries have effectively disproved the theory in the case of Europe at least, for nephrite has been found there in situ in several places. The largest mass of this material that has been taken from a European deposit is that found by the writer at Jordansmühl in Silesia, in April, 1899, and which weighed 4704 pounds.[379] The origin of American jade in the forms of nephrite and jadeite has not yet been definitely determined, but we have every reason to suppose that deposits of these minerals will eventually be discovered in various parts of the American continent, as they have already been in Europe. Indeed, the existence of nephrite in Alaska is already well attested.

The peculiar and characteristic qualities of these substances have made them favorite materials for ornamental objects from the earliest ages down to our own day, and in almost all parts of the world. A most important element contributing to the popularity of jade has been its supposed possession of wonderful talismanic and therapeutic virtues, and while the Western world has not the same belief in these matters as the Eastern world, a more or less definite appreciation of what jade still signifies for many in the Orient, continues to exercise an influence over both Americans and Europeans, making objects of nephrite or jadeite highly prized everywhere at the present time.

The term chalchihuitl was indifferently applied by the ancient Mexicans to a number of green or greenish-white stones; quetzal chalchihuitl, which was regarded as the most precious variety, may perhaps have more exclusively denoted jadeite. This is somewhat indefinitely described by Sahagun as being “white, with much transparency, and with a slight greenish tinge, something like jasper.” Of eight ornamental objects of green stone examined some years ago by the writer, four were of jadeite, one of serpentine, another of green quartz, and the remaining two of a mixture of white feldspar and green hornblende. An inferior kind of chalchihuitl, said by Sahagun to have come from quarries in the vicinity of Tecalco, appears to have been identical with the so-called “Mexican onyx” which is found in veins in that place and is an aragonite stalagmite. This material, from which figures, ornaments and beads were made by the ancient Mexicans, is to-day greatly valued as an ornamental stone.

The greater number of ancient Mexican jadeite beads appear to have been rounded pebbles of this material, assorted as to size and drilled for use in making necklaces. Other green stones used at this time in Mexico were green jasper, green plasma, serpentine and also the “Tecalco onyx” or “marble” above mentioned. In many cases these substances are of such rich green that they might easily be mistaken for jadeite by those who lacked the tests or the experience at the command of modern mineralogists. Should jadeite ever be found in situ in Mexico, it seems probable that the discovery will be made in the State of Oaxaca, whence came the finest ancient specimens, including the splendid votive adze. Moreover, one of the few materials by which jadeite can be worked is furnished by the streams of this region, whence have been taken several rolled pebbles which the writer has identified as yellow and blue corundum, the quality being equal to that of specimens from Ceylon.[380]

Gesner describes one of the lip ornaments worn by the aborigines of South America in the following words:[381]

A green stone or gem which the inhabitants of the West Indies use. They pierce their lips and insert this stone so that the thicker part adheres to the hole and the rest protrudes. We might call these ornaments oripenduli [mouth-pendants]. This stone was given me by a learned Piedmontese, Johannes Ferrerius, and he wrote of it as follows: “I send a cylindrical green stone, as long as a man’s middle finger, and having at one extremity two ridges. It is stated that the Brazilians of high rank wore these, from their youth, in their pierced lips; one or more being worn according to the dignity of the wearer. While eating, or whenever they so wish for any other reason, these ornaments are removed from the lips.”

Similar ornaments, made of a green quartz and of beryl, are in the Kunz collection in the Field Museum of Chicago.

The reason for these strange mutilations, which often cause serious discomfort to those who practice them, is not at all easy to determine. Some have conjectured that by the insertion of bright, colored objects in the ears, nose and lips, members of the same tribe were enabled to recognize each other at a distance; each tribe having selected a particular color. However, although certain local preferences are shown in the matter of color or material, there is no hard and fast rule in this matter, and frequently neighboring tribes will employ stones or shells of the same or similar hue and appearance. Others find in this custom a religious significance and suppose that the mutilation represents a form of sacrifice to the spirits, good or bad, who must be rendered favorable to man by some act on his part showing his unconditional submission to them. Originating in this way the idea of adornment was a secondary impulse. It is a fact that ancient peoples regarded the wearing of ear-rings as a badge of slavery, and, according to a Rabbinical legend, Eve’s ears were pierced as a punishment for her disobedience, when she was driven from the Garden of Eden.

A curious theory was advanced by Knopf.[382] He calls attention to the habit children have of thrusting small bright objects into their noses and ears, and suggests that this indicates a natural propensity which, coupled with the early-developed love of adornment, induced primitive man to affix ornamental objects on or in the nose, ear, or mouth. There may be more in this than we are willing to admit, but on the whole it seems most probable that ceremonial and religious considerations gave rise to the custom.

One of the largest masses of sculptured Chinese jade is in the collection of T. B. Walker, Esq., of Minneapolis. This shows a jade mountain, with groups of figures artistically placed at its base, and winding pathways up to its summit. On the face of the rock is inscribed in beautiful Chinese characters the Epidendron Pavilion Essay of Wang Hi-che, a masterpiece of Chinese calligraphy.

An enormous mass of New Zealand jade (punamu, “green stone”) weighing 7000 pounds, found in South Island in 1902, is to be seen in the Museum of Natural History, New York; it was secured by the writer and was donated to the Museum by the late J. Pierpont Morgan. This is the largest mass of jade known, or of which we have any record. On it is placed a remarkable and, in its own peculiar way, an artistic decoration, serving as a type of old Maori life, and at the same time designating the geographic source of the jade in a striking and unmistakable manner calculated to appeal to the least intelligent visitor. This is a statue of a Maori warrior of the old days, executing a war dance, characteristics of which were a distortion of the features and a thrusting out of the tongue intended to express defiance and contempt of the enemy; the time or cadence of the dance was marked by slapping the thigh with the flat of the left hand. This figure was executed from life by Sigurd Neandross; indeed it was actually cast from the model, so that there can be no doubt as to its fidelity.

Rock-crystal is included among the various objects used as fetiches by the Cherokee Indians. This stone is believed to have great power to give aid in hunting and also in divining. One owner of such a crystal kept his magic stone wrapped up in buckskin and hid it in a sacred cave; at stated intervals he would take it out of its repository and “feed” it by rubbing over it the blood of a deer. This goes to prove that the stone, as a fetich, was considered to be a living entity and as such to require nourishment.[383]

STATUE OF A MAORI WARRIOR, BY SIGURD NEANDROSS.
The base is a block of New Zealand jade from South Island, weighing three tons. It was donated by Mr. J. Pierpont Morgan to the American Museum of Natural History.

Precious stones have been everywhere regarded as especially appropriate offerings at the shrine of a divinity, for the worshipper naturally thought that what was most valuable and beautiful in his eyes must also be most pleasing to the divinity he worshipped. However, we rarely find the usage which was remarked by Francisco Lopez de Gomara among the Indians of New Granada about the time of the Spanish Conquest.[384] These natives “burned gold and emeralds” before the images of the sun and moon, which were regarded as the highest divinities. Certainly to use precious stones for a “burnt offering” was an original and curious idea, although we have abundant proof that pearls were offered in this way by the mound-builders of the Mississippi Valley. In this case great quantities of pearls were burned at the obsequies of the chiefs of the tribes, or at those of any one belonging to the family of a chief.

In ancient Mexico the lapidaries adored the four following divinities as their tutelary gods: Chiconaui Itzcuintli (“nine dogs”), Naualpilli (“noble necromancer”), Macuilcalli (“five horses”), and Cintectl (“the god of harvest”). A festival was celebrated in honor of the three last-named divinities when the zodiacal sign called chiconaui itzcuintli was in the ascendant. A feminine divinity represented this sign and to her was attributed the invention of the garments and the ornaments worn by women. The four gods of the lapidaries were looked upon as the discoverers and teachers of the art of cutting precious stones and of piercing and polishing them, as well as of the making of labrets and earflaps of obsidian, rock-crystal, or amber. They also were the inventors of necklaces and bracelets.[385]

The stones worn by Chinese mandarins as a designation of their rank were undoubtedly determined originally by religious or ceremonial considerations. They are as follows; it will be noticed that red stones are given the preference:

Red or pink tourmaline, ruby (and rubellite)	1st rank.
Coral or an inferior red stone (garnet)	2d rank.
Blue stone (beryl or lapis-lazuli)	3d rank.
Rock-crystal	4th rank.
Other white stones	5th rank.

The knowledge of classical mythology was so slight among the ecclesiastics of the Middle Ages that some very queer attributions of the subjects engraved on Greek and Roman gems were made during this period. A reliquary containing a tooth of the Apostle Peter, preserved in the Cathedral of Troyes, was set with antique gems which had been plundered by French and Venetian crusaders from the treasure-house of the Greek Emperor in Constantinople, when that city was sacked in 1204 during the Fourth Crusade. Among these gems was one representing Leda and the Swan—certainly a curious subject for the adornment of a Christian reliquary. Another Greek or Roman gem, long preserved in a church, was furnished by its Christian owners with an inscription indicating that the figure engraved upon it was that of St. Michael, while in reality it was a representation of the god Mercury. Still another gem was provided with an inscription signifying that the subject was the temptation of Mother Eve in the Garden of Eden, but the Greek gem engraver’s intent had been to carve the figures of Zeus and Athena, standing before an olive tree, a design which appears on some Athenian coins; at the feet of the divinities appears a serpent. In a similar way the grain-measure crowning the head of Jupiter-Serapis led to the attribution of a gem so engraved to the patriarch Joseph.[386]

An engraved amethyst bearing the figure of a little Cupid is said to have been worn in a ring by St. Valentine. While this may be somewhat doubtful, it is by no means impossible, for many pagan gems were worn by pious Christians, who reconciled their consciences to the use of these beautiful but scarcely religious ornaments by giving to the pagan symbols a Christian meaning. Certainly, in view of the time-honored customs connected with St. Valentine’s Day, there seems something peculiarly appropriate in the design of the ring supposed to have been worn by St. Valentine.

That precious stones had sense and feeling was quite generally believed in medieval times, and a legend told of St. Martial illustrates this idea. The gloves worn by this saint were studded with precious stones, and when on a certain occasion a sacrilegious act was committed in his presence, the gems, horrified at the sight, sprang out of their settings and fell to the ground before the eyes of the onlookers.

TITLE PAGE OF A GROUP OF TREATISES BY VARIOUS AUTHORS, COLLECTED AND EDITED BY CONRAD GESNER AT ZÜRICH IN 1565.

The upper one of the two rings figured is set with a natural pointed diamond, the lower one with a piece of amber enclosing an insect; grouped around are twelve stones representing those of the Breastplate.

The St. Sylvester or St. James stone is a banded agate in two colors, the one dark and the other light, with a cat’s-eye effect so that both colors are equally visible. The light side represents the old year, with its known occurrences, and the opaque side represents the new year, which is dark like futurity. This is a typical stone for a New Year’s present or for one born on St. Sylvester’s Day, the last day of the year. The popular tradition is that the member of a family or a household who is last to arise on that day will be the last to arise all the year around.

The famous “Sacro Catino” preserved in Genoa was long believed to be made of a single immense emerald, but careful investigation proved that it was of no more valuable material than green glass. A legend still current in the early part of the sixteenth century represented this cup, or dish, as having been used by Christ at the Last Supper, and stated that it was one of the utensils which King Herod ordered to be brought from Galilee to Jerusalem for the celebration of the paschal feast; but his purpose having been changed by Divine Providence, he made other use of it.[387]

A queer story has been told regarding the Genoese emerald. At one time when the government was hard pressed for money, the Sacro Catino was offered to a rich Jew of Metz as pledge for a loan of 100,000 crowns. He was loath to take it, as he probably recognized its spurious character, and when his Christian clients forced him to accept it under threats of dire vengeance in case of refusal, he protested that they were taking a base advantage of the unpopularity of his faith, since they could not find a Christian who would make the loan. However, when some years later the Genoese were ready to redeem this precious relic, they were much puzzled to learn that a half-dozen different persons claimed to have it in their possession, the fact being that the Jew had fabricated a number of copies which he had succeeded in pawning for large sums, assuring the lender in each case that the redemption of the pledge was certain.

Among the celebrated emeralds noted by George Agricola[388] (1490-1555) was a large one preserved in a monastery near Lyons, France. This is also mentioned by Gesner, who states that it was shaped as a dish, or shallow cup, and was held to be the Holy Grail, like its rival at Genoa.[389] Another of Agricola’s emeralds was somewhat smaller, but nevertheless measured nine inches in diameter and was in the chapel of St. Wenceslaus, at Prague; this may have been a chrysoprase, as at the present day many fine specimens of this stone can be seen in St. Wenceslaus, where the walls are inlaid with the golden green gem-stone. Still another, larger than the last named, was set in the gold monstrance in Magdeburg, and was believed to have been the handle of Emperor Otho I’s knife, since it was perforated. Possibly, however, the emerald, if genuine, was an Oriental stone, for it was customary to pierce rubies, sapphires, emeralds, etc., in the East so as to string them for necklaces or attach them as pendants to a jewel.

In the convent-church of St. Stephan, in Persian Armenia, erected about the middle of the seventeenth century, it is related by the French traveller Tavernier that there was preserved a cross said to be made out of the basin in which Christ washed the feet of the Apostles. Set in this cross was a white stone, and the priests asserted that when the cross was laid upon the body of one seriously ill, this stone would turn black if he were about to die, but would regain its white hue after his death.[390]

No jewelled sacred image has been the object of greater reverence than has been accorded to the rude little wooden carving popularly known as the “Sacro Bambino” or “Sacred Baby,” in the old church of Ara Coeli in Rome. This figure was carved, in 1847, by a monk, out of a piece of olive-wood from one of the ancient trees growing on the Mount of Olives near Jerusalem. The carving was executed in the Holy Land and was sent thence to Italy, and although the ship bearing it was shipwrecked, this precious freight was miraculously preserved and is supposed to have been conveyed to its destination in some mysterious way. The reverence of the thousands of pilgrims who in the course of time have gazed with veneration upon this quaint and curious work of art, has found expression in the bestowal of a wealth of gems and jewels, including necklaces, brooches, rings, etc., with which the silken dress of the image is studded. A crown of gold adorned with precious stones rests upon the head of the olive-wood figure, which is jealously guarded by the priests and only shown to the faithful as a particular favor, except on the occasion of certain religious festivals.

One of the most renowned emeralds in the world surmounted the elaborately jewelled imperial crown that was placed upon the head of the venerated image of the Virgen del Sagrario in the Cathedral of Toledo. This emerald, of a rich green color, was cut as a perfect sphere and measured about 40 millimetres, or 1½ inches, in diameter. The crown itself was the work of the Toledan goldsmith, Don Diego Alejo de Montoya, who began his task in 1574 and devoted twelve years to its completion. It is described as being of almost pure gold and executed in the Renaissance style. Curiously chased in arabesque designs and enamelled in various colors, the framework of the crown served as a magnificent background for the gems constituting its adornment, which comprised rubies, emeralds, and Oriental pearls; a row of angels and cherubs sustained the arches which bore at their summit the allegorical figures of Faith, Hope, and Charity; upon that representing Faith rested the splendid emerald. This precious ornament was still preserved in the Cathedral in 1865, but was so carelessly guarded that it was stolen in 1869.[391]

If we are to believe the following anecdote, the emerald disappeared at an earlier date: It is said that in 1809, during the French occupation of Spain, Marshal Junot visited this cathedral, and the emerald was pointed out to him as one of the chief glories of the shrine. As soon as the marshal’s covetous glance rested upon the gem, he plucked it from its setting, remarking, coolly, to the astonished and horrified bystanders, “This belongs to me.” Then, smiling and bowing, he left the cathedral with the emerald safely ensconced in his waistcoat pocket. Later, it was replaced by an imitation in glass.

The famous collection of jewels gathered together in the treasury of the Santa Casa, at Loreto, Italy, was plundered during the French occupation in 1797, and all trace of most of the magnificent ornaments has been lost. These represented the gifts of many crowned heads and titled personages; among the former was the unfortunate Henrietta Maria, wife of Charles I, who donated a golden heart-shaped jewel with the words “Jesus Maria” incrusted in diamonds. This jewel is described as being “as big as both a man’s hands, opened onto two leaves, on one of which was the figure of the Blessed Virgin and on the other a portrait of the queen herself.”[392] Of the many rich vestments for decorating the statue of the Virgin in the sanctuary, the most splendid was the gift of the Infanta Isabel of Flanders, and was valued at 40,000 crowns. In a seventeenth-century account by an English traveller it is thus described:[393]

Its set thick with six rows of diamonds downe before, to the number of three thousand, and its all wrought over with a kinde of embroidery of little pearle set thick everywhere within the flowers with great round pearle, to the number twenty thousand pearles in all.

The same writer tells us the niche in which the statue was placed was bordered with a row of precious stones of great number, size, and value, the colors being so varied that this bordering formed “a rich Iris of several colors.” There is also said to have been a great pearl, set in gold, and engraved with the image of the Virgin and Child.[394] It seems probable that this was a jewel made of a baroque pearl, or pearls, completed by enamel-work so as to represent the sacred figures.

The pectoral cross worn in solemn processions by the prior of the monastery of San Lorenzo del Escorial was adorned with eight perfect emeralds, five diamonds, and five pearls. From it hung a splendid pear-shaped pearl, the gift of Philip II in 1595, and one of the finest of those acquired by this monarch. In 1740 the cross was valued at 50,000 crowns, Philip’s great pearl not being included in this valuation.[395]

The monastery of Streoneshalh, later Whitby Abbey, was founded about 656 A.D. by Oswy, King of Northumbria, in fulfilment of a vow made before his victory over the pagan king Penda, at the battle of Winwidfield, fought in November, 654. St. Hilda was made abbess of this monastery, and Oswy’s daughter Aelfleda took the veil and eventually, in 680, succeeded Hilda as abbess; she died in 713.[396] Tradition relates that at this early date crosses and rosaries were made for the inmates of the monastery from the jet found in the neighborhood. The “Whitby jet,” so popular and fashionable in the eighteenth century, was largely derived from the same source, and since then has had several revivals, until replaced by black-stained chalcedony, the so-called onyx, and, later still, by steel carved with glass and glass itself.

In the sixteenth century jet was popularly called “black amber,” and Cardano states that in his time beads of this material were made up into rosaries. He also says that curious figures made of jet were brought from Spain to Italy.[397]

Many are unaware of the fact that a number of ornamental objects made of nephrite and jadeite—unquestionably of European origin—are to be seen in the quiet little town of Perugia. These objects, collected principally in central and southern Italy, constitute the Belucci Collection, in that city. This collection also contains other specimens of worked jadeite, which must have been brought to Europe at the time of the Spanish conquest of Mexico and Peru. A very interesting example shows us the utilization of a pagan celt to form a Christian emblem. By the removal of a rectangular piece from each of the four corners of the jadeite celt, a perfect cross has been made, the back and front of which still offer the original polish given to the material centuries ago by the native American worker. The superstitious belief propagated in Europe by the returning Spanish sailors, very probably an invention of their own to enhance the value of their jade and jadeite, that these minerals were worn by the natives as a cure for diseases of the kidneys, whence the name lapis nephriticus, rendered the material exceptionally precious in the eyes of many, and quite possibly it may have been thought that, by transforming this object into the sacred form of the cross, a talisman would be produced that would not only effect the cure of a special disease, but would also by its superior virtue guard the wearer from harm and danger of all kinds. Here may also be seen some celts of European jade sewed up in little bags to be worn on the loins.

1. Cross made from a celt of jadeite (Mexican), bought from a peasant in Perugia. This was originally a celt and was divided into four pieces. Of Mexican origin and brought to Italy in sixteenth century. Belluci Collection.

2. Jadeite celt, from Guatemala.

3. Celt, Aboriginal. A small stone hatchet made of jade nephrite, of the kind believed by the peasants to be thunderbolts. Mounted in silver to be worn as a charm. This specimen, tied over the loins, is said to have been worn as recently as fifty years ago by a Scottish gentleman as a cure for kidney disease. British Museum.

Certain curious amulets called magatama (crooked jewels) have been found in Japanese graves of the iron age;[398] they are formed of various materials, among others of steatite, jasper, carnelian, agate, rock crystal, chrysoprase and nephrite (jade). In the shell heaps of a period preceding the iron age, the magatama are frequently made of horn, or of boar’s or wolf’s teeth, and their peculiar form, which is variously explained as a symbol, may have been conditioned by the shape of the materials originally used. The magatama were evidently regarded as amulets. “They are generally perforated at the thick end, and were worn on a string, together with beads and bugles of the same material.” These peculiar ornaments were used to adorn the statues of the gods and were also employed as imperial insignia and distinctive marks of high rank. At the present day they are numbered among the three emblems of sovereignty in Japan.

A green and a red magatama are combined in the national emblem of Korea and a similar figure is used in China to symbolize the union of the masculine and feminine principles (Yang and Yin) in nature. Dr. Baelz believes that the swastika emblem, encountered in so many different parts of the world, belongs to the same order of ideas.

The Bghai tribes of Burma have many superstitions in regard to stones, such as garnets, rock-crystal, chalcedony, carnelian, agate, onyx and others of less value, their repute not depending entirely or principally upon their quality as gem-stones. In almost every household is installed a stone fetish, and blood offerings are on occasion made to this. A question as to the reason for this offering elicited the following reply: “If we do not give it blood to eat it will eat us.” A common belief was that spirits good or bad dwelt in the stones, and in case a great misfortune befell a family, this was sometimes laid to the charge of such a spirit. The father of a family having died, his widow commanded her son to throw away their magic stone. This he did, but the spirit was not to be denied, for shortly afterward this very stone was found to have returned to its accustomed place, and had even brought two companion stones with it![399]

Ruy Gonzalez de Clavijo, who travelled in the East during the years 1403-1406, gives a description of a slab of stone bearing the outlines of a “natural picture,” and placed in the church of St. Sophia, in Constantinople:[400]

In the wall, on the left-hand side, there is a very large white slab, on which, among many other figures, was drawn, very naturally, without any human artifice of sculpture or painting, the most sacred and blessed Virgin Mary, with our Lord Jesus Christ in her most holy arms, with his most glorious forerunner, St. John the Baptist, on one side. These images, as I said before, are not drawn or painted with any color, or inlaid, but the stone itself gave birth to this picture, with its veins, which may be clearly seen; and they say that when this stone was cut, to be placed in this most holy place, the workman saw these most wonderful and fortunate images on it, and, as this church was the most important one in the city, that stone was deposited in it. The said images appear as if they were in the clouds of heaven, and as if there was a thin veil before them.

Many other examples of these “natural gems” are noted by early writers. Among them was an agate gem in the treasury of the Basilica of St. Mark, in Venice. Upon this gem appeared the head of a king, adorned with a diadem, the whole design being figured naturally by the veining of the agate, and not owing anything to artifice. In the same city, upon a column in the church of San Georgio Maggiore, could be seen the likeness of Our Lord, hanging from the Cross.[401]

Such stones, with peculiar markings indicating the form of human heads and figures, were regarded as the work of higher powers.

Another remarkable example is described by Kircher as follows:[402]

In Rome, in the Chapel of the Sacred Virgin, near the organ to the right hand of those who enter the Church of St. Peter, an image may be seen in which the Blessed Virgin of Loreto is so artistically depicted by Nature that it appears to be the work of an artist’s hand. She is attired in a triple garment, divided by a zone, and holds in her arms the child, who is distinguished by a crown, as is the mother. Around may be seen the figures of angels.

The red spots upon the bloodstone were said in Christian legend to represent the blood of Christ. This idea has been beautifully utilized in some gems cut from this stone, whereon the thorn-crowned head of Christ is so placed that the red spots of the bloodstone figure the drops of blood trickling down the hair and face of the Saviour. Such a gem might well be looked upon as a Christian amulet and one that could be reverently worn by any believer.

The ignorance in the Middle Ages of the art of gem-engraving often induced the belief that engraved stones were the work of nature. A striking instance of this was the celebrated stone over the figure of the Mother of Jesus, on the tomb of St. Elizabeth of Marburg. On this gem appeared two heads touching each other, and it was, according to tradition, not a work of art, but a freak of the sculptress Nature. An oft-repeated legend tells us that a former Elector of Mainz offered the whole district of Amöneberg for this costly stone, which robber hands removed at Cassel. It is in reality a fine onyx engraved with the heads of Castor and Pollux.[403]

We might be disposed to regard rather sceptically the tales regarding wonderful stones bearing the image of Christ, or that of the Virgin Mary, and we may be inclined to believe that the old accounts are exaggerated or distorted by the pious imaginations of the writers. Nevertheless, in our own time we have a well-attested case of the discovery of such a stone.

In 1880, while visiting the village of Oberammergau, Bavaria, to witness the Passion Play, Mrs. Eugenia Jones-Bacon, of Atlanta, Georgia, found on Mount Kopfel, which overlooks the village, a small stone composed of chert and limestone, and having on its surface excrescences so disposed that, when the stone was held at a certain angle, the shadows cast by them formed a striking likeness of the head of Christ as depicted in Christian art. This peculiar freak specimen has been carefully examined by experts and has been pronounced to be entirely a work of nature. The mineralogist is not disposed to see here anything more than coincidence, and yet the most sceptical cannot fail to be impressed by the fact that such a stone was found at the time and place of the Passion Play. As Max Müller said, in commenting on this strange discovery: “The chapter of accidents is much larger than we imagine,” and the present writer feels disposed to add that it is remarkable how often we find what we are looking for, especially if we are only looking or thinking of one object or subject.

The religious symbolism of the diamond was a favorite theme with the thirteenth century “lapidaria,” or rhymed treatises on precious stones. Just as it could only be discovered by night—an old fancy—so was the Incarnation a hidden mystery; it gave forth a great light, just as Jesus illumined the depths of Hades when he descended thither; it was unconquerably hard, and who can resist the might of God?[404]

The mediæval Italians who were fond of seeking some hidden and significant meaning in the names of precious stones, in the case of the diamond (diamante), read the phrase amante di Dio, or “lover of God.”[405] This was a reason for regarding the brilliant gem as a sacred stone and one especially suitable for religious use.

The Rosicrucians, who sought to combine pagan with Christian types and figures, saw in the amethyst and the amethystine color a symbol of the divine male sacrifice, since the stone and the color were typical of love, truth, passion, suffering, and hope. The love of Christ led him to make the supreme sacrifice and suffer the agony of the Cross, and the Crucifixion was followed by the Resurrection, whence came the hope of mankind to enjoy eternal happiness in heaven.

The chiastolite, or macle, shows the representation of a cross on its surface, this effect being produced by the regular arrangement of carbonaceous impurities along the axes of the crystal. The name signifies a marking resembling the Greek letter Χ (chi). This marking is often very striking in appearance, and the crystal was naturally regarded as having a mystical and religious significance. It was said to stanch the flow of blood from any part of the body if worn so as to touch the skin, and it was also believed to increase the secretion of milk. All kinds of fevers were cured by this mineral if it were worn suspended from the neck, and the divine symbol it bore served to drive away evil spirits from the neighborhood of the wearer.

This very interesting mineral occurs very frequently in mica schists. When found, it appears about the thickness of a small finger, tapering slightly at each edge. If broken near one end, it often shows a white cross with a veined outline of black, making a distinct cross with black markings. The crystals frequently measure from two to four inches in length, and are found in Massachusetts, California, and other places. If small segments are broken off, it will be found that the black outline will become stronger, and the white less marked, until finally a black cross will appear, with white markings. The white material is the result of two white wedges pushed point onward until the ends meet, the narrow end of one wedge being crossed by the broad end of the second wedge, and the black filling in the balance of the square. No two of these square crosses can thus ever be exactly alike, and, when polished, the crystals naturally form an interesting stone that was known as lapis crucifer, or cross-stone by the ancients.

STAUROLITE CRYSTALS (FAIRY STONES).
Patrick County, Virginia.

The peculiar form of the mineral known as staurolite (from the Greek σταυρός cross) is due to the twinning of two crystals at right angles. In Cronstedt’s treatise on mineralogy, published in Stockholm in 1758, we are told that the staurolite was sometimes called Baseler Taufstein (baptismal-stone) or lapis crucifer, the former name being used in Basel, where the stone was employed as an amulet at baptisms. However, the lapis crucifer of De Boot appears from his description to have been the chiastolite. In Brittany these twin crystals were worn as charms, and local legends state that they had dropped from the heavens.

Fine crystals of staurolite have been found in Patrick County, Virginia, and there is said to be a beautiful local legend in regard to their origin. Near where they are found there wells up a spring of limpid water, and the story goes that one day, long, long ago, when the fairies were dancing and playing around this spring, an elfin messenger winged his way through the air and alighted among them. He bore to them the sad tidings of the crucifixion of Christ in a far-off city. So mournful was his recital of the sufferings of the Saviour that the fairies burst into tears, and these fairy tear-drops, as they fell to earth, crystallized into the form of the cross. These natural crosses are in great demand as charms, and ex-President Roosevelt is said to wear one of them mounted as a watch-charm.

There has been found in the southern part of New Mexico, and in northern Mexico, a blue variety of calamine, a hydrous silicate of zinc, colored blue by an admixture of copper. This stone has been cut into gem form and has been sold to a certain extent as a cheap gem. It is translucent and is sometimes veined with white wavy lines. The Mexican Indians employed in the mines often set up a cross and a candle near where they are working, so that they may pay their devotions at this improvised shrine. In Sonora and Western Chihuahua the Indians frequently place a piece of the stone to which we have alluded alongside the cross. They may be attracted by its beautiful blue color, or they may believe that it is a turquoise, although it does not resemble this latter stone, which is more opaque, of a different shade of blue and of a different composition.

In some epitaphs the hope of the resurrection finds expression in likening the body enclosed in its narrow coffin to a precious jewel in its casket. The following lines from a tombstone erected in 1655 to the memory of Mary Courtney, at Fowell, Cornwall, England, give a good example of this class of inscription:[406]

Near this a rare jewell’s set,

Clos’d up in a cabinet.

Let no sacrilegious hand

Breake through—’tis y^e strickte comaund

Of the jeweller: who hath sayd

(And ’tis fit he be obey’d)

I’ll require it safe and sound

Both above and under ground.

In a churchyard at Prittlewell, Essex, England, a rather whimsical treatment of the same idea is offered by some verses engraved on the stone marking the graves of two wives of a certain Freeborne, the first of whom died in 1641 and the second in 1658. The bereaved husband seems to have been perfectly willing to await the Day of Judgment for the return of his lost spouses:[407]

Under this stone two precious gems do ly

Equall in weight, worth, lustre, sanctity:

Yet perhaps one of them do excell;

Which was’t who knows? ask him y^t knew y^em well

By long enjoyment. If he thus be prest,

He’el pause, then answere: truly both were best:

Were’t in my choice that either of y^e twain

Might be returned to me to enjoy agayne,

Which should I chuse? Well, since I know not whether;

Ile mourne for the losse of both, but wish for neither,

Yet here’s my comfort, herein lyes my hope,

The tyme a comeinge cabinets shall ope

Which are lockt fast: then shall I see

My Jewells to my joy, my Jewells mee.

The Christian symbolism of colors has in many cases determined the use of certain colored gems for religious ornaments, and therefore the following summary of their principal significance is of interest here:[408]

White is regarded as the first of the canonical colors, and as emblematic of purity, innocence, virginity, faith, life, and light. For this reason it is used in the ceremonies of Easter and Christmas, as in those of the Circumcision and Epiphany of Our Lord. As the color of virginity it is especially appropriate for the festival of the Virgin Mary, and as that of faith not sealed with blood, for the festivals of the saints who were not martyred. The heavenly host of angels and saints wear white robes, and in pictures of the Assumption of the Virgin she is frequently clad in white.

Red is used at the feasts of the Exaltation and Invention of the Cross, at Pentecost, and at the Feast of Martyrs. It suggests and symbolizes suffering and martyrdom for the faith, and the supreme sacrifice of Christ upon the Cross. Divine love and majesty are also typified by this color.

Blue is an emblem of the celestial regions and of the celestial virtues. Nevertheless, as this is not one of the five canonical colors, it is not employed for the decoration of churches or for ecclesiastical vestments. In Christian art, however, the Virgin and the saints and angels are often robed in blue.

Yellow of a golden hue is emblematic of God’s goodness and of faith and good works, but it is not a canonical color. A dull yellow, however, has the opposite signification, and is a type of treachery and envy. Hence Judas is garbed in yellow of a dull hue, and heretics wore garments of this shade when they were condemned to the stake.

Green is the canonical color for use on Sundays, week-days, and ordinary festivals. Hope and joy and the bright promises of youth are signified by green.

Violet, another canonical color, is appropriate for use on Septuagesima and Quinquagesima Sundays, during Lent, and on Advent Sunday. The chastening and purifying effects of suffering find expression in this color.

Black, also a canonical color, is a symbol of death and of the mourning and sorrow inspired by death. Therefore it is only used in the Church on Good Friday, to symbolize the sorrow and despair of the Christian community at the death of Christ, a sorrow soon to be turned to joy by His glorious resurrection.

FRONTISPIECE OF THE “VESTITUS SACERDOTUM HEBRÆORUM,” OF JOHANN BRAUN, AMSTERDAM, 1680.

The vignettes at the top illustrate the source of the materials of the vestments, etc.; as the nopal, source of the cochineal insect; gold-thread; linen; a sheep for wool; Tyre and the purple murex. The other vignettes show separate parts of the high-priest’s attires and in the centre appear two figures of the high-priest, each garbed in different sets of vestments.

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VIII
On the High-Priest’s Breastplate

VERY early, and very naturally, the religious nature of man led to the use of precious stones in connection with worship—the most valuable and elegant objects being chosen for sacred purposes. Of this mode of thought, we have a striking instance in the accounts given, in the book of Exodus, of the breastplate of the High-priest, and the gems contributed for the tabernacle by the Israelites in the wilderness. Another religious association of such objects is their use to symbolize ideas of the Divine glory, as illustrated in the visions of the prophet Ezekiel and in the description of the New Jerusalem in the book of Revelation. Apart from such legitimate uses, however, gems have become associated with all manner of religious fancies and superstitions, traces of which appear in the Talmud, the Koran, and similar writings; they have also been dedicated to various heathen deities. Even in modern times, some trace of the same ideas remains in the ecclesiastical jewelry and its supposed symbolism.

In the vision of Ezekiel i, 26, and in a brief allusion to the similar appearance of the God of Israel in Exodus xxiv, the throne of Jehovah, or the pavement beneath his feet, is compared to a sapphire, and the Apostle John, in the Apocalypse, describes the Great White Throne as surrounded by a rainbow like an emerald.

The Rabbinical writings, instead of the simple grandeur of these biblical comparisons, give us many fanciful ideas. The stones of the breastplate are here represented as sacred to twelve mighty angels who guard the gates of Paradise, and wondrous tales are told of the luminous gems in the tent of Abraham and the ark of Noah. Mohammedan legend represents the different heavens as composed of different precious stones, and in the Middle Ages these religious ideas became interwoven with a host of astrological, alchemistic, and medical superstitions.

The following is the description of the breastplate given in Exodus (xxviii, 15-30):

And thou shalt make the breastplate of judgment with cunning work; after the work of the ephod thou shalt make it; of gold, of blue, and of purple, and of scarlet, and of fine twined linen shalt thou make it.

Foursquare it shall be being doubled; a span shall be the length thereof, and a span shall be the breadth thereof.

And thou shalt set in it settings of stones, even four rows of stones: the first row shall be a sardius, a topaz, and a carbuncle: this shall be the first row.

And the second row shall be an emerald, a sapphire, and a diamond.

And the third row a ligure, an agate, and an amethyst.

And the fourth row a beryl, and an onyx, and a jasper; they shall be set in gold in their enclosings.

And the stones shall be with the names of the children of Israel, twelve, according to their names, like the engravings of a signet; every one with his name shall they be according to the twelve tribes.

And thou shalt make upon the breastplate chains at the ends of wreathen work of pure gold.

And thou shalt make upon the breastplate two rings of gold, and shalt put the two rings on the two ends of the breastplate.

And thou shalt put the two wreathen chains of gold in the two rings which are on the ends of the breastplate.

And the other two ends of the two wreathen chains thou shalt fasten in the two ouches, and put them on the shoulder-pieces of the ephod before it.

And thou shalt make two rings of gold, and thou shalt put them upon the two ends of the breastplate in the border thereof, which is in the side of the ephod inward.

And two other rings of gold thou shalt make, and shalt put them on the two sides of the ephod underneath, toward the forepart thereof, over against the other coupling thereof, above the curious girdle of the ephod.

And they shall bind the breastplate by the rings thereof unto the rings of the ephod with a lace of blue, that it may be above the curious girdle of the ephod, and that the breastplate be not loosed from the ephod.

And Aaron shall bear the names of the children of Israel in the breastplate of judgment upon his heart, when he goeth in unto the holy place, for a memorial before the Lord continually.

And thou shalt put in the breastplate of Judgment the Urim and the Thummim; and they shall be upon Aaron’s heart, when he goeth in before the Lord: and Aaron shall bear the judgment of the children of Israel upon his heart before the Lord continually.

Of the miraculous quality of the stones worn by the high-priest, the Jewish historian Josephus (37-95 A.D.) says:[409]

From the stones which the high-priest wore (these were sardonyxes, and I hold it superfluous to describe their nature, since it is known to all), there emanated a light, as often as God was present at the sacrifices; that which was worn on the right shoulder instead of a clasp emitting a radiance sufficient to give light even to those far away, although the stone previously lacked this splendor. And certainly this in itself merits the wonder of all those who do not, out of contempt for religion, allow themselves to be led away by a pretence of wisdom. However, I am about to relate something still more wonderful, namely, that God announced victory in battle by means of the twelve stones worn by the high-priest on his breast, set in the pectoral. For such a splendor shone from them when the army was not yet in motion, that all the people knew that God himself was present to aid them. For this reason the Greeks who reverence our solemnities, since they could not deny this, called the pectoral λόγιον or oracle. However, the pectoral and the onyxes ceased to emit this radiance two hundred years before the time when I write this, because God was displeased at the transgressions of the Law.

This writer, who must have seen the high-priest wearing his elaborate vestments, says that the breastplate was adorned “with twelve stones of exceptional size and beauty, a decoration not easily to be acquired, on account of its enormous value.”[410] However these gems were not merely rare and costly; they also possessed wonderful and miraculous powers. Writing about 400 A.D., St. Epiphanius, Bishop of Constantia, tells of a marvellous adamas which was worn on the breast of the high-priest, who showed himself to the people, arrayed in all his gorgeous vestments, at the feasts of Pascha, Pentecost, and Tabernacles. This adamas was termed the δήλωσις or “Declaration,” because, by its appearance, it announced to the people the fate that God had in store for them. If the people were sinful and disobedient, the stone assumed a dusky hue, which portended death by disease, or else it became the color of blood, signifying that the people would be slain by the sword. If, however, the stone shone like the driven snow, then the people recognized that they had not sinned, and hastened to celebrate the festival.[411]

There seems to be little doubt that this account is nothing more than an elaboration and modification of the passage in Josephus. Evidently the λόγιον (oracle) of Josephus has become the δήλωσις (declaration).

When Moses wished to engrave on the stones of the breastplate the names of the twelve tribes of Israel, he is said to have had recourse to the miraculous shamir. The names were first traced in ink on the stones, and the shamir was then passed over them, the result being that the traced inscriptions became graven on the stones. In proof of the magical character of this operation, no particles of the gems were removed in the process.[412] The name really designates “emery.”

THE HEBREW HIGH-PRIEST ATTIRED WITH HIS VESTMENTS.
(From Johann Braun’s “Vestitus Sacerdotum Hebræorum,” Amsterdam, 1680, opp. p. 822.)

An argument against the use of especially rare and costly stones in the decoration of the breastplate has been found in its probable size.[413] We are told that when folded it measured a span in each direction, and this would indicate that its length and breadth were each from eight to nine inches. In this case the stones themselves might have measured two by two and a half inches, and, in view of the number of characters required to express some of the tribal names, these dimensions do not seem excessive. It is highly improbable that in the time of Moses precious stones like the ruby, the emerald, or the sapphire would have been available in these dimensions. The difficulty of engraving very hard stones with the appliances at the command of the Hebrews of this period must also be taken into consideration. As we shall see, however, there is good reason to believe that after the Babylonian Captivity a new breastplate was made, and at that time it may have been easier to secure and work precious stones of great value and a high degree of hardness. We must also bear in mind that in those periods perfection was not so great a requisite as rich color.

I, II, THE BREASTPLATE UNFOLDED.

A, lower fold; B, B, B, B, rings for attachment to Ephod; C, the twelve gems in their settings; D, D, hooks for attachment to shoulder; E, E, bands to pass through rings in Ephod.

III. EPHOD WITH BREASTPLATE FOLDED AND ATTACHED.

G, G, rings through which pass bands of Breastplate; H, H, bands of Ephod. From Johann Braun’s “Vestitus Sacerdotum Hebræorum,” Amsterdam, 1680.

In his commentary on Exodus xxviii, Cornelius à Lapide (Cornelius Van den Steen) discusses the question of the diamond in the high-priest’s breastplate. In the first place, he notes that the diamond was very costly, and that a large stone would have been needed to bear the name of Judah or that of any other tribe. He considers that a stone of the requisite size would have cost a hundred thousand gold crowns, and he asks, “Whence could the poor Hebrews have obtained such a sum of money, and where could they have found such a diamond?” He proceeds to give still another reason for doubting that the diamond was in the breastplate,—namely, that it would have marked too great a distinction between the tribes, the result being that the tribe to which the diamond was assigned would have been puffed up with pride, while the others would have been filled with hatred and envy, “for the diamond is the Queen Gem of all the gems.”[414]

The use of the breastplate to reveal the guilt of an offender is testified to in a Samaritan version of the book of Joshua, which has been discovered by Dr. Moses Gaster, chief rabbi of the Spanish and Portuguese Jews in England. According to this version, Achan steals a golden image from a heathen temple in Jericho. The high-priest’s breastplate reveals his guilt, for the stones lose their light and grow dim when his name is pronounced.

Many conjectures have been made as to the origin of the breastplate with the mystic Urim and Thummim enclosed within it. That an Egyptian origin should be sought seems most probable. A breast-ornament worn by the high-priest of Memphis, as figured in an Egyptian relief, consists of twelve small balls, or crosses, intended to represent Egyptian hieroglyphics. As it cannot be determined that these figures were cut from precious stones, the only definite connection with the Hebrew ornament is the number of the figures; this suggests, but fails to prove, a common origin. The monuments show that the high-priest of Memphis wore this ornament as early as the fourth Dynasty, or, approximately, 4000 B.C.[415]

Of the Urim and Thummim, the mysterious oracle of the ancient Hebrews, St. Augustine (354-450 A.D.), after acknowledging the great difficulty of interpreting the meaning of the words and the character of the oracle, adds that some believed the words to signify a single stone which changed color according as the answer was favorable or unfavorable, while the priest was entering the sanctuary; still he thought it possible that merely the letters of the words Urim and Thummin were inscribed upon the breastplate.[416]

After the capture of Jerusalem by Titus in 70 A.D., the treasures of the temple were carried off to Rome, and we learn from Josephus that the breastplate was deposited in the Temple of Concord, which had been erected by Vespasian. Here it is believed to have been at the time of the sacking of Rome by the Vandals under Genseric, in 455, although Rev. C. W. King thinks it is not improbable that Alaric, king of the Visigoths, when he sacked Rome in 410 A.D., might have secured this treasure.[417] However, the express statement of Procopius that “the vessels of the Jews” were carried through the streets of Constantinople, on the occasion of the Vandalic triumph of Belisarius, in 534, may be taken as a confirmation of the conjecture that the Vandals had secured possession of the breastplate and its jewels.[418]

It must, however, be carefully noted that Procopius nowhere mentions the breastplate and that it need not have been included among “the vessels of the Jews.” It appears that this part of the spoils of Belisarius was placed by Justinian (483-565) in the sacristy of the church of St. Sophia. Some time later, the emperor is said to have heard of the saying of a certain Jew to the effect that, until the treasures of the Temple were restored to Jerusalem, they would bring misfortune upon any place where they might be kept.[419] If this story be true, Justinian may have felt that the fate of Rome was a lesson for him, and that Constantinople must be saved from a like disaster. Moved by such considerations, he is said to have sent the “sacred vessels” to Jerusalem, and they were placed in the Church of the Holy Sepulchre.

This brings us to the last two events which can be even plausibly connected with the mystic twelve gems,—namely, the capture and sack of Jerusalem by the Sassanian Persian king, Khusrau II, in 615, and the overthrow of the Sassanian Empire by the Mohammedan Arabs, and the capture and sack of Ctesiphon, in 637.[420] If we admit that Khusrau took the sacred relics of the Temple with him to Persia, we may be reasonably sure that they were included among the spoils secured by the Arab conquerors, although King, who has ingeniously endeavored to trace out the history of the breastplate jewels after the fall of Jerusalem in 70 A.D., believes that they may be still “buried in some unknown treasure-chamber of one of the old Persian capitals.”

A fact which has generally been overlooked by those who have embarked on the sea of conjecture relative to the fate of the breastplate stones is that a large Jewish contingent, numbering some twenty-six thousand men, formed part of the force with which the Sassanian Persians captured Jerusalem, and they might well lay claim to any Jewish vessels or jewels that may have been secured by the conquerors. In this case, however, it is still probable that these precious objects fell into the hands of the Mohammedans who captured Jerusalem in the same year in which they took Ctesiphon.

One circumstance which may have contributed to the preservation of these gems in their original form after they fell into the hands of the Romans is the fact that each one was engraved with the name of one of the Jewish tribes, the inscription being probably in the older form of Hebrew writing, which was used in the coinage even as late as the last revolt in 137 A.D. Hence, recutting would have been necessary to fit them for use as ornaments, a process not easily accomplished, and involving a great loss of size. We must also bear in mind that the intrinsic value of the gems may not have been so great as many suppose, since all of them were probably of the less perfect forms of the precious and semi-precious varieties. It is very likely that the enthusiastic statements of Josephus in this connection were dictated by national pride, or arose from the tendency to exaggeration so common among the Oriental writers. Certainly, if the breastplate known to Josephus was made not long after the return of the Jews from the Babylonian Captivity, their financial resources at the time of its fabrication were quite restricted.

Admitting as a possibility that the Arabs may have secured possession of the breastplate, how would they have regarded it? The heroes of the Old Testament, and especially Moses, were such sacred personalities in the eyes of Mohammedans that this relic would have been as precious for them as for us. However, the victorious Arabs who overran the Sassanian Empire, although filled with religious zeal, were no students of archæology, and would have been quite unable to decipher the strange characters engraved on the stones. They would most probably have supposed them to be Persian characters, and would, therefore, have valued these stones no higher than others in the Persian treasure. This can serve as an explanation of the fact that no allusion to the breastplate with its adornment can be found in the works of those Mohammedan writers, such as Tabari, who treat of the overthrow of the Sassanian Empire. We may be sure that the Persians themselves would have accorded no special honor to objects connected with the Hebrew religion, since their own Zoroastrian faith had no connection with it.

In 628, not long before the date of the Arab invasion, the most precious relic of Christendom, the cross discovered by Helena, mother of Constantine the Great, and believed to be the very cross on which Christ died, was surrendered to the Greek Emperor Heraclius by Kobad II, son of Khusrau II, on the conclusion of a treaty of peace between the Eastern and Sassanian Empires. This cross was one of the sacred objects borne away to Persia from Jerusalem by Khusrau in 615 A.D. It is said to have been guarded carefully through the influence of Sira, Khusrau’s Christian wife. There is a bare possibility that other objects of religious veneration, taken from Jerusalem, may have been given up by the Persians at the same time, and that the unique character of the most important relic so overshadowed all others that historians have failed to note the fact. The cross was restored to Jerusalem by Heraclius in 629, only to fall into the hands of the Mohammedans when that city was taken by the Arabs under Omar, in 637. Hence, if the jewelled breastplate had also been surrendered by Kobad, it would probably have shared the same fate.

SILVER CROSS WITH QUARTZ CAT’S EYE.
Russian, sixteenth century. Collection of Mrs. Henry Draper.

SPECIMENS OF CHIASTOLITE (LAPIS CRUCIFER). (See page [271].)
From the “Metallotheca Vaticana” of Mercatus, Rome, 1719, p. 238. In the author’s library.

We have here a wide field for conjecture,—but, unfortunately, nothing more. Still, in the absence of any definite and trustworthy information, there is a kind of romantic interest in viewing the various possible relations of the mystery surrounding the fate of the most precious gems, historically at least, that have ever existed. More especially is this interest justified in the case of all who are disposed to prize gems and jewels for their symbolic significance, for, as we have shown, this significance, as far as concerns natal stones and the spiritual interpretation of the qualities of the heart and soul symbolized by the color and character of the principal precious and semi-precious stones, has its root in the veneration felt by early Christian writers, beginning with the author of the Apocalypse, for the unforgotten and unforgettable gems that were worn by the Hebrew high-priest.

A rather ingenious utilization of the reputed powers of Aaron’s breastplate comes to us in a book printed in Portland, Maine.[421] The writer assumes that the Urim and Thummim enclosed in the folds of the breastplate consisted of twelve stones, duplicates of those engraved with the names of the tribes, and so disposed that, when they were shaken to and fro and then allowed to come to rest, three of them would become visible through an aperture in the ephod just beneath the rows of set stones. The signification of the oracle is given by the various combinations of color offered by the three stones that reveal themselves; to each combination a prearranged meaning is given. That anything of the kind could have been true of the original Urim and Thummim is scarcely worthy the trouble of refutation, but the practical result of this modern experiment is a clever oracle which will probably enjoy a certain vogue.

For those who, with the late lamented Lieutenant Totten, see in the tribes of Manasseh and Ephraim the Anglo-Saxons of England and the United States, and who look upon George V as the king who sits upon the throne of David, these symbolical stones of the breastplate acquire an added significance. While not pretending to be able to follow all the intricate and certainly most ingenious and interesting speculations of this school of Biblical exegesis, we cannot help expressing some astonishment that Ephraim should be thought to prefigure England and Manasseh the United States, instead of vice versa. In Gen. xlviii, 17-20, the text more especially referred to in these speculations, Jacob’s blessing is bestowed upon Ephraim, in spite of Joseph’s protest that it should go to the eldest son, Manasseh. To this protest Jacob answers: “I know it, my son, I know it: he also [Manasseh] shall become a people, and he also shall be great: but truly his younger brother shall be greater than he, and his seed shall become a multitude of nations.” Certainly the very composite population of the United States perfectly merits this description. As a general rule, the Hebrews, when using the names Ephraim and Manasseh as tribal designations, maintained the twelve-fold division of the people, by substituting these tribes for Joseph and by dropping the name of Levi from the list, the tribe of Levi being assigned as priests to the care of the sanctuary, and not participating in the division of the Land of Promise.

In the Midrash Bemidbar, the Rabbinical commentary on Numbers, the tribes are given in their order, with the stone appropriate to each and the color of the tribal standard pitched in the desert camp, this color corresponding in each, case with that of the tribal stone. This list represents a tradition dating back to at least the twelfth century and possibly much earlier than that; hence its value should not be underestimated, although we may not accept it without some reserves.[422]

Odem	Reuben	Red
Pitdah	Simeon	Green
Bareketh	Levi	White, black and red
Jophek	Judah	Sky-blue
Sappir	Issachar	Black (like stibium)
Yahalom	Zebulun	White
Leshem	Dan	Sapphire-color
Shebo	Gad	Gray
Ahlamah	Naphtali	Wine-color
Tarshish	Assher	Pearl-color (?)
Shoham	Joseph	Very black
Yashpheh	Benjamin	Colors of all the stones

In the attempt to determine the identity of the stones enumerated in Exodus xxviii and xxxix, as adorning the breastplate of the high-priest, we must bear in mind that this “breastplate of Aaron” and the one described by Josephus, and brought by Titus to Rome after the capture of Jerusalem in 70 A.D., are in all probability entirely distinct objects. The former, if it ever existed, except in the ideal world of the authors of the Priestly Codex, must have been composed of the stones known to and used by the Egyptians of the thirteenth or fourteenth century, B.C., some of them being, perhaps, set in the “jewels of gold and jewels of silver” borrowed by the Israelites from the Egyptians just before the Exodus; on the other hand, the most trustworthy indications regarding the stones of the breastplate of the Second Temple, made perhaps in the fifth century B.C., should be sought in the early Greek and Latin versions of the Old Testament, and in the treatise on precious stones by Theophrastus, who wrote about 300 B.C. The Natural History of Pliny, that great storehouse of ancient knowledge, and other early writers, may also be used with profit.

TITLE PAGE OF THE EDITION OF MARBODUS ON PRECIOUS STONES, PUBLISHED IN COLOGNE, 1539.

Shows the figure of the High-priest and the names and tribal attributions of twelve stones of the Breastplate.

I. Odem. [אֹדֶם.] The etymology of this word clearly indicates that we have to do with a red stone, most probably the carnelian. We know that in ancient Egypt hieroglyphic texts from the Book of the Dead were engraved upon amulets made from this stone, and it was also used for early Babylonian cylinders. Fine specimens of carnelian were obtained from Arabia. The Greek Septuagint and the Latin Vulgate, as well as Josephus, in the “Wars of the Jews” (V, 5, 7), and Epiphanius, all translate sardius, the ancient designation of carnelian; in his “Antiquities,” however, Josephus renders odem by “sardonyx.” The Egyptian word chenem was used to designate red stones, and seems to have been applied indifferently to red jasper and red feldspar as well as to carnelian; indeed, the first-named material was more freely used in early Egyptian work than the carnelian. It is, therefore, probable that in Mosaic times odem signified red jasper, while for the fifth century B.C. “carnelian” would be the better rendering. This modern name of the sardius, signifying the “flesh-colored” stone, first appears in the Latin translation of a treatise by Luca ben Costa, who wrote in the tenth century A.D. The name of Reuben is said to have been engraved on the odem stone, which occupied the first place on the breastplate.

II. Piṭdah. [פַּטְדָה.] There seems to be little doubt that this is the topazius of ancient writers, which usually signified our chrysolite, or peridot, not our topaz; for Pliny and his successors describe the topazius as a stone of a greenish hue. A legend related by Pliny gives as the place of origin an island in the Red Sea, called Topazos, from topazein, “to conjecture,” because it was difficult to find. However, the Hebrew piṭdah appears to have been derived from the Sanskrit piṭa, “yellow,” and should, therefore, have originally signified a yellow stone, perhaps our topaz. W. M. Flinders Petrie, probably influenced by this Sanskrit etymology, sees in it the yellow serpentine used in ancient Egypt. If, nevertheless, we admit that a light green stone occupied the second place on the Mosaic breastplate, it was perhaps the light green serpentine. This was called meh in Egyptian, and was often used for amulets. In the case of the later breastplate we may substitute the peridot. On this second stone was engraved the name Simeon.

III. Bareketh. [בָּרֶקֶת.] Here the Septuagint, Josephus, and the Vulgate agree in translating smaragdus, and as we know that emerald mines were worked at Mount Zabarah, in Nubia, before the beginning of our era, and that the emerald was known and used in Egypt, there does not seem to be any reason for rejecting the usual translation “emerald.” Still it must be admitted that smaragdus often designates other green stones than the emerald. The suggestion has been made (by Myers and Petrie) that the passage in Revelation iv, 3, where the rainbow is likened to the smaragdus, indicates that the writer used this name for rock-crystal; but this conjecture is scarcely satisfactory, since it confuses the prismatic effects of light which has traversed the crystal with the crystal itself. There can be little doubt that a stone of brilliant coloration, like the emerald, not a colorless one, like rock-crystal, would be used as a simile of the rainbow. Whether the Mosaic breastplate already contained the emerald is another question, and it seems rather more likely that green feldspar, freely used in ancient Egypt for amulets, and known as uat, was the third stone of the proto-breastplate. The Authorized Version makes “the carbuncle” the third instead of the fourth stone. Upon the bereketh was engraved the name Levi.

IV. Nophek. [נֹפֶךּ.] This name is rendered ἄνθραξ by the Septuagint and Josephus, and “carbunculus” by the Vulgate. This designation, signifying literally “a glowing coal,” was used for certain stones distinguished by their peculiarly brilliant red color, such as the ruby and certain fine garnets. While it is quite possible that the Oriental ruby may have been in the breastplate seen by Josephus, it is almost certain that it could not have been in the original breastplate of Mosaic times, since there is absolutely no proof that this stone was known in ancient Egypt. Hence we are inclined to believe that in the thirteenth century B.C. the name nophek designated the almandine garnet, or some similar variety of that stone. The Authorized Version has “emerald” here instead of in the third place. On this fourth stone of the breastplate was engraved the tribal name of Judah.

CROSS, ATTACHED AS PENDANT TO THE CROWN OF THE GOTHIC KING RECCESVINTHUS (649-672 A.D.).

Forming part of the treasure discovered in 1858 at Guarrazar in Spain. Now in Musée de Cluny, Paris. The cross proper is set with fine sapphires cut en cabochon and eight large pearls. Natural size.

V. Sappir. [סַפִּיר] This is rendered sapphirus in all the old versions.[423] The stone cannot have been our sapphire, for both Theophrastus and Pliny describe the sapphirus as a stone with golden spots, thus showing that they meant the lapis-lazuli, which is often spotted with particles of pyrites having a golden sheen. This stone was named chesbet by the Egyptians, and was highly prized by them, a quantity of lapis-lazuli often appearing as an important item in the lists of tribute paid to Egypt and among the gifts sent by Babylonia to the Egyptian monarchs, and obtained from the oldest mines in the world. These were worked at a period 4000 B.C. and still are worked to this day. From this material amulets and figures were made, many of which have been preserved for us, and the Egyptian high-priest is said to have worn, suspended from his neck, an image of Mat, the Goddess of Truth, made of lapis-lazuli. The name is composed of the Latin lapis, “a stone,” and lajuward, the name of the stone in Persian. From this latter word is also derived our “azure.” In ancient times the lapis-lazuli was the blue stone par excellence, because of its beautiful color and the valuable ultramarine dye derived from it. Although Pliny writes (xxxvii, 39) that this stone was too soft for engraving, this fact need not have prevented its use in the breastplate, since the stones set therein were not intended for use as seals and hence were not subjected to any wear. In this connection, however, it is somewhat strange that the Hebrew word sappir appears to indicate a stone especially adapted to receive inscriptions. The fact that the lapis-lazuli was greatly esteemed in ancient Egypt, and was still much used as an ornamental stone in Greek and Roman times, renders it probable that it was set not only in the original breastplate, but also in that of a later age. Upon this fifth stone the name Issachar was inscribed.

VI. Yahalom. [יַהֲלֹם] The sixth stone of the Septuagint version and of Josephus is the ἴασπις, probably green jasper, or jade, and this has been assumed to show that in the original Hebrew text yashpheh was the sixth stone, in place of yahalom. The twelfth stone of the Greek version is the ὀνύχιον or “onyx,” and this seems to be the most probable equivalent of the Hebrew yahalom. Some Hebrew sources, however, render it “diamond,” and Luther in his German version of the Bible, as well as our own Authorized Version, translates it thus. This rendering is based upon the derivation of the word yahalom from a verb meaning “to smite,” thus making the name of the stone signify “the smiter,” a designation not inappropriate for the diamond, which, because of its extreme hardness, has the power to cut, or “smite,” all other stones. However, for this purpose the emery corundum, or smiris-point shamir, mentioned in Zechariah, was most likely used. The diamond was certainly not used in this way in very early times, although it is possible that the stone was employed in engraving in the fifth century B.C. These considerations induce us to prefer the traditional interpretation of yahalom, and translate it “onyx.” In this case “the smiter” could be explained as denoting the use of the engraved onyx for sealing, as the engraved figure or letters were struck upon some soft material to make an impression. Zebulun was the tribal name inscribed on the yahalom.

VII. Leshem. [לֶשֶׁם] No stone in the breastplate is more difficult to determine than this one. The Septuagint, Josephus, and the Vulgate all translate ligurius, an appellation sometimes applied to amber, a substance quite unfitted for use in the breastplate among the other engraved stones. Probably the original significance of ligurius was amber, this name being used because Liguria, in northern Italy, was the chief source of supply for Greece and the Orient; amber which had been gathered on the shores of the Baltic being brought by traders to Liguria and forwarded thence to other lands. As, however, the Greeks had another name for amber, electron, the name ligurion appears to have been applied later to a variety of the jacinth somewhat resembling amber in color, and then to other varieties of the same stone. The original form of the name was evidently ligurion, which was later changed to lyncurion, and was then explained as meaning the urine of the lynx (from λύγξ, and οὖρον, urine). This fanciful etymology gave rise to the story that the ligurios, or rather lyncurius, was the solidified urine of the lynx. The term lyncurion, as used by Theophrastus, may possibly have included the sapphire as well as the jacinth, since he lays especial stress upon the coldness of this substance, a quality characteristic of the sapphire, and also of the still denser jacinth. Hence, it appears that we have, even in the name ligurius, some justification for accepting the rendering hyacinthus, suggested by the list of foundation stones in Revelation xxi, 20, and already proposed by Epiphanius, Bishop of Constantia, about 400 A.D. Whether hyacinthus should be rendered “sapphire” or “jacinth” is not easy to determine, as this name seems to have been used indifferently for both stones; with the Arabs, under the form yakut, it became a generic term for all the varieties of the corundum gems. The sapphire was engraved in Greek and Roman times and is, perhaps, the leshem stone of the Second Temple. For the Mosaic breastplate we are forced to seek for some stone known in ancient Egypt, where the sapphire does not seem to have been introduced at an early date. If we could accept the suggestion of Brugsch that the Egyptian neshem stone, reputed to have wonderful magic virtues, was the same as the Hebrew leshem, a brown agate would have been the seventh stone in the original breastplate, as Wendel gives very strong reasons for rendering neshem in this way. The color designations were very freely used in Egyptian, and therefore a reddish or a yellowish brown agate may have been used. The leshem bore the tribal name Joseph.

VIII. Shebo. [שְׁבוֹ.] This is uniformly rendered in the ancient versions and in Josephus by “agate,” a composite stone highly esteemed in very ancient times, and hence worthy of a place among the stones of the breastplate; at a later period, as Pliny notes (xxxvii, 54), it became so common that it was but little regarded. Nevertheless the fact that the various kinds of agates were believed to have many talismanic and therapeutic virtues, the great variety of coloration observable in these stones, and the curious figures and markings displayed by many of them, served to make them favorite objects. The etymology of the word shebo suggests that it designated more especially a banded agate, and that set in the proto-breastplate was most probably one with gray and white bands, as this variety often appears in Egyptian work. There would have been no lack of contrast between this stone and the reddish or yellowish-brown agate, of uniform color, which may have occupied the seventh place. For the later breastplate we may choose any one of the many kinds of banded agate. This stone had engraved upon it the name Benjamin.

IX. Aḥlamah. [אַחְלָמָה.] As to this stone also, all the authorities are in agreement, and render aḥlamah by “amethyst.” This was not, however, the Oriental amethyst, a variety of corundum, but a dark blue or purple variety of quartz. Both Arabia and Syria furnished a supply of amethysts. The Hebrew name shows that this stone was believed to possess the virtue of inducing dreams and visions (cf. halom—“dream”), while, as is well known, the Greek name characterizes it as an enemy or preventive of inebriety. The amethyst was known in ancient Egypt and probably was named hemag. In the Book of the Dead a heart made of hemag is mentioned, and two such heart-shaped amulets of amethyst are preserved in the Boulaq Museum. As the amethyst retained its repute as a stone of beauty and power through the Greek and Roman periods, we may safely assert that it was set in both the first and second breastplates. Upon the aḥlamah was engraved the name Dan.

X. Tarshish. [תַרשִׁישׁ.] The Septuagint renders this word “chrysolite,” where it is used in the description of the breastplate, as does Josephus also. In the Authorized Version, “beryl” is the rendering. We have already stated that the topaz of the ancients was usually our chrysolite, or peridot, and the name “chrysolite” appears to have been used to designate our topaz. This is indeed indicated by the literal meaning of the word, “golden-stone.” The tarshish received its name from Tartessus, in Spain, an important commercial station of the Phœnicians. The stone derived from this source was not, of course, our Oriental topaz, a variety of corundum, nor was it the true topaz; neither is it at all likely that the name tarshish signified, at least originally, the genuine topaz; most probably it denoted a variety of quartz which occurs in Spain. This is originally black, but is decolorized by heating to a deep brown, and if the heating be prolonged the stone becomes paler and eventually entirely transparent. The ancients were familiar with this property. In ancient Egyptian records a stone called thehen is frequently mentioned as a material from which amulets were made. This Egyptian name signified primarily a “yellow stone,” and might designate either the topaz or the yellow jasper, known and used in Egypt at a very early date; the topaz was probably not known there earlier than 500 or 600 B.C. Hence, in spite of the unquestionable difficulty offered by the geographical name tarshish, which might seem to confine us to a Spanish origin for the stone, the probabilities favor the selection of the yellow jasper as the tenth gem in Aaron’s breastplate. For that made with pious zeal by those who labored to renew the glories of the Old Jerusalem, we choose the topaz,—possibly, indeed, a fine specimen of the genuine topaz,—for whatever the quality of the yellow stone originally brought from Tartessus, the name may well have been applied to the genuine topaz when that stone became known to the Jews, either in Babylonia, or after their return to Palestine. The tarshish was engraved with the name Naphtali.

XI. Shoham. [שֹׁהַם.] The Septuagint translates “beryl,” but in our Authorized Version and in that used by Roman Catholics, the so-called Douai Version, the word is invariably rendered “onyx.” Diodorus Siculus and Dionysius Periegetes, writing in the first century B.C., are the first classical authors who use the name beryl. While this name does not appear in the treatise of Theophrastus, he evidently includes the beryl among his smaragdi; indeed, the true emerald is simply a variety of the beryl, and owes its beautiful coloration to a slight admixture of chromium. The finest beryls were brought from India. Besides the specimen set in the breastplate, the high-priest wore on his shoulders two shoham stones, each engraved with the names of six of the tribes. After carefully weighing the evidence, we believe that the stones worn by the high-priest of the Second Temple were aquamarines (beryls). In our endeavor to determine the shoham stones used in Mosaic times, we have no very definite information to guide us; on the whole, the conjecture of J. L. Myers, that they were malachites, seems to have much in its favor, for this material was known to the ancient Egyptians and appears to have been often used for amulets. The Egyptian name for malachite, as well as for other green stones, was mafek, and a ring of mafek is mentioned in an Egyptian text; undoubtedly, at a later period in Egyptian history, mafek may also have denoted the beryl. In view of the fact that the turquoise was unquestionably known to the Egyptians at a very early date, the supply being derived from mines in the Sinai Peninsula, which were rediscovered by Macdonald, we might be tempted to suggest that the shoham stones were turquoises. The light blue or blue-green of the specimens of this stone found on Mt. Sinai would make an even better contrast with the neighboring jade than would the bright green malachite. On the shoham of the breastplate the name Gad was engraved.

XII. Yashpheh. [יָשְׁפֶה.] If, as appears almost certain, this name originally occupied the sixth place in the original Hebrew text, all the ancient versions agree in translating it “jasper.” An Assyrian form of the name was yashpu, as is shown by the Tell el Amarna letters in the cuneiform writing dating from not long before the Exodus. Of all the so-called jaspers none were so highly valued as those of a green color. The talismanic and therapeutic qualities of the “green jaspers” are often noted by ancient writers, and, according to Galen, these stones were recommended for remedial use by Egyptian writers on medicine. Abel Remusat, the great French Orientalist, writing in 1820, was one of the first to see in the yashpheh of the Hebrews and in the green jasper of the Greeks and Romans, the material jade (nephrite or jadeite), the Chinese yu-stone. These minerals were used both in the Old and the New World, and were everywhere believed to possess wonderful virtues. Very likely the powers supposed to characterize jade were later attributed to green jasper, but there is every reason to suppose that the true jade was always more highly prized than its jasper substitute, for it was much rarer, and was easily distinguishable, by its translucency, from jasper of a similar color. Until quite recently only Turkestan, Burma and New Zealand have supplied jade and most of that used in other lands came from prehistoric relics or from sources unknown to us. It seems highly probable that the yashpheh which adorned the breastplate made for Aaron was a piece of nephrite or jadeite; possibly in the later breastplate green jasper may have been employed. This stone was inscribed with the tribal name Assher.

In the following lists of the precious and semi-precious stones contained in the earlier and later breastplates, the writer does not claim to have finally solved the problem presented by the Hebrew accounts of the high-priest’s adornment, but he hopes that the distinction established here between the Mosaic breastplate and that of the Second Temple, separated from each other by an interval of eight centuries, may serve to clear up some of the difficulties encountered in the treatment of this subject.

The Breastplate of Aaron.		The Breastplate of the Second Temple.
I	Red jasper	Carnelian
II	Light-green serpentine	Peridot
III	Green feldspar	Emerald
IV	Almandine garnet	Ruby
V	Lapis-lazuli	Lapis-lazuli
VI	Onyx	Onyx
VII	Brown agate	Sapphire or jacinth
VIII	Banded agate	Banded agate
IX	Amethyst	Amethyst
X	Yellow jasper	Topaz
XI	Malachite	Beryl
XII	Green jasper, or jade	Green jasper, or jade

The following lists show the variations of the different ancient authorities in regard to the names of the gems in the breastplate:

	Hebrew.	Septuagint. Josephus	Vulgate	Authorized	Revised
		(Greek)	(Greek)	(Latin)	Version	Version
		About 250 B.C.	About 90 A.D.	About 400 A.D.	1611 A.D.	1884 A.D.
1	Odem	Sardion	Sardonyx	Sardius	Sardius	Sardius (or Ruby)
2	Piṭdah	Topazion	Topazos	Topazius	Topaz	Topaz
3	Bareḳeth	Smaragdos	Smaragdos	Smaragdus	Carbuncle	Carbuncle (or Emerald)
4	Nophak	Anthrax	Anthrax	Carbunculus	Emerald	Emerald (or Carbuncle)
5	Sappir	Sappheiros	Iaspis	Sapphirius	Sapphire	Sapphire
6	Yahalom	Iaspis	Sappheiros	Jaspis	Diamond	Diamond (or Sardonyx)
7	Leshem	Ligurion	Liguros	Ligurius	Ligure	Jacinth (or Amber)
8	Shebo	Achatês	Amethystos	Achatês	Agate	Agate
9	Aḥlamah	Amethystos	Achatês	Amethystus	Amethyst	Amethyst
10	Tarshish	Chrysolithos	Chrysolithos	Chrysolithus	Beryl	Beryl (or Chalcedony)
11	Shoham	Bêryllion	Onyx	Onychinus	Onyx	Onyx (or Beryl)
12	Yashpheh	Onychion	Bêryllos	Bêryllus	Jasper	Jasper

The high-priest’s breastplate, as described in Hebrew tradition, was regarded by the Jews with peculiar reverence, and the stones set in it were believed to be emblematic of many things. It is, therefore, quite natural that these stones are described in the book of Revelation as the foundation stones of the New Jerusalem. The names are in some cases not identical with those given in Exodus, but this may arise from various renderings of the Hebrew names in the Targums or in the Greek versions.

The text in Revelation (xxi, 9-21) is as follows:

And there came unto me one of the seven angels which had the seven vials full of the seven last plagues, and talked with me, saying, Come hither, I will show thee the bride, the Lamb’s wife:

And he carried me away in the spirit to a great and high mountain, and showed me that great city, the holy Jerusalem, descending out of heaven from God.

Having the glory of God: and her light was like unto a stone most precious, even like a jasper-stone, clear as crystal;

And had a wall great and high, and had twelve gates, and at the gates twelve angels, and names written thereon, which are the names of the twelve tribes of the children of Israel:

On the east, three gates; on the north, three gates; on the south, three gates; and on the west, three gates.

And the wall of the city had twelve foundations, and in them the names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb.

And he that talked with me had a golden reed to measure the city, and the gates thereof, and the wall thereof.

And the city lieth foursquare, and the length is as large as the breadth: and he measured the city with the reed, twelve thousand furlongs. The length and the breadth and the height of it are equal.

And he measured the wall thereof, an hundred and forty and four cubits, according to the measure of a man, that is, of the angel.

And the building of the wall of it was of jasper: and the city was pure gold, like unto clear glass.

And the foundations of the wall of the city were garnished with all manner of precious stones. The first foundation was jasper; the second, sapphire; the third, a chalcedony; the fourth, an emerald;

The fifth, sardonyx; the sixth, sardius; the seventh, chrysolite; the eighth, beryl; the ninth, a topaz; the tenth, a chrysoprasus; the eleventh, a jacinth; the twelfth, an amethyst.

And the twelve gates were twelve pearls; every several gate was of one pearl: and the street of the city was pure gold, as it were transparent glass.

It is easy to trace in this description the substitution of the twelve apostles for the twelve tribes in connection with the precious stones enumerated, and, besides this, we also have the twelve angels, associated at a later date with the months and the signs of the zodiac.

Of the twelve foundation stones the Revelation of St. John expressly states that they had “in them the names of the twelve apostles of the Lamb.” The assignment of each stone to the respective apostle was made in later times according to the order given in the lists of the apostles contained in the so-called Synoptic Gospels, Matthew, Mark, and Luke. These lists are not quite identical—Andrew, for instance, being placed second in Matthew and Luke, but fourth in Mark—and the same stone was not always assigned to a given apostle. Frequently the list was modified by the addition of the apostle Paul, really the thirteenth apostle. In this case he was usually given the second place immediately after St. Peter, and to the brothers James and John, the “Sons of Thunder,” was assigned a single stone; in some later arrangements St. Paul occupies the last place, after St. Matthias, who was chosen to take the place of Judas Iscariot, and whose name as an apostle first appears in the Acts.

Lists of the Apostles.

Gospel of	Gospel of	Gospel of
St. Matthew	St. Mark	St. Luke
x, 2-4.	iii, 16-19.	vi, 14-16.
Peter	Peter	Peter
Andrew	James	Andrew
James	John	James
John	Andrew	John
Philip	Philip	Philip
Bartholomew	Bartholomew	Bartholomew
Thomas	Matthew	Matthew
Matthew	Thomas	Thomas
James the Less	James the Less	James the Less
Thaddeus	Thaddeus	Simon Zelotes
Simon Zelotes	Simon Zelotes	Judas
Judas Iscariot	Judas Iscariot	Judas Iscariot

The passage in Revelation xxi, 19, 20, is not the only one in that book treating of precious stones, for we read in chapter iv, 2, 3:

And immediately I was in the Spirit: and, behold, a throne was set in heaven, and one sat on the throne.

And he that sat was to look upon like a jasper and a sardine stone: and there was a rainbow round about the throne, in sight like unto an emerald.

The commentators, both ancient and modern, have given many different explanations of the symbolic meaning of the similes employed here. Some have seen in the two stones a type of the two judgments of the world, by fire and by water; others find that they signify the holiness of God and his justice. Of the rainbow “like unto an emerald,” Alford says we should not think it strange that the bow is green, instead of prismatic: “the form is that of the covenant bow, the color even more refreshing and more directly symbolizing grace and mercy.”[424]

The significance of the twelve Apocalyptic gems is given by Rabanus Maurus, Archbishop of Mainz (786-856), in the following words:[425]

In the jasper is figured the truth of faith; in the sapphire, the height of celestial hope; in the chalcedony, the flame of inner charity. In the emerald is expressed the strength of faith in adversity; in the sardonyx, the humility of the saints in spite of their virtues; in the sard, the venerable blood of the martyrs. In the chrysolite, indeed, is shown true spiritual preaching accompanied by miracles; in the beryl, the perfect operation of prophecy; in the topaz, the ardent contemplation of the prophecies. Lastly, in the chrysoprase is demonstrated the work of the blessed martyrs and their reward; in the hyacinth, the celestial rapture of the learned in their high thoughts and their humble descent to human things out of regard for the weak; in the amethyst, the constant thought of the heavenly kingdom in humble souls.

The origin of the foundation stones named in Revelation xxi, 19, 20, may be found in the text, Isaiah liv, 11, 12, where we read:

O thou afflicted, tossed with tempest, and not comforted, behold, I will lay thy stones with fair colours, and lay thy foundations with sapphires.

And I will make thy windows of agates, and thy gates of carbuncles, and all thy borders of pleasant stones.

As we see, only three stones are mentioned by name: the sapphire, the carbuncle, and “agates.” This last rendering is quite doubtful, as the Hebrew word (kodkodim) signifies shining or gleaming stones, and their use for windows indicates that they must have been transparent. It is easy to understand that in later times the twelve stones of the breastplate, dedicated to the twelve tribes of Israel, were used to fill out and complete the picture, following the indication given by the general terms “stones with fair colours” and “pleasant stones.”

In commenting on this text Rabbi Johanan is quoted in the Babylonian Talmud as saying that God would bring jewels and pearls thirty ells square (twenty ells in height and ten in width) and would place them on the gates of Jerusalem. There may be in this some reminiscence of the Apocalyptic foundation stones. A sceptical disciple said to the Rabbi, “We do not ever find a jewel as large as the egg of a dove.” But not long afterward, when this same disciple was sailing in a boat on the sea, he saw angels sawing stones as immense as those described by Rabbi Johanan, and when he asked for what they were designed, the reply was, “The Holy One, blessed be He, will place them on the gates of Jerusalem.”[426]

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[IX]
Birth-Stones

THE origin of the belief that to each month of the year a special stone was dedicated, and that the stone of the month was endowed with a peculiar virtue for those born in that month and was their natal stone, may be traced back to the writings of Josephus, in the first century of our era, and to those of St. Jerome, in the early part of the fifth century. Both these authors distinctly proclaim the connection between the twelve stones of the high-priest’s breastplate and the twelve months of the year, as well as the twelve zodiacal signs. Strange to say, however, in spite of this early testimony, we have no instance of the usage of wearing such stones as natal stones until a comparatively late date; indeed, it appears that this custom originated in Poland some time during the eighteenth century. The reason for this seems to have been that the virtues attributed to each particular stone, more especially the therapeutic virtues, rendered it necessary to recommend the wearing of one or the other, according to the disease from which the person was suffering, for his natal stone might not have the power to cure his particular ailment, or might not bring about the fulfilment of his dearest wish. In other words, the belief in the special virtues of the stone was paramount, and it was long before the mystic bond between the stone of the month and the person born in that month was fully realized.

The order in which the foundation stones of the New Jerusalem are given in the book of Revelation determined the succession of natal stones for the months. The first stone was assigned to St. Peter and to the month of March, to the leader of the apostles and to the month of the spring equinox; the second to the month of April; the third to May, etc. When, however, many centuries later,—probably in Poland, as we have stated,—with the aid of the rabbis or the Hebrew gem traders, the wearing of natal stones became usual, certain changes had been made in this order and some stones not mentioned among those of the breastplate, or of the New Jerusalem, were substituted for certain of these,—notably the turquoise for the month of December, the ruby for July, and the diamond for April. In modern times the turquoise has become the stone for July while the ruby has been assigned to December.

There is some evidence in favor of the theory that at the outset all twelve stones were acquired by the same person and worn in turn, each one during the respective month to which it was assigned, or during the ascendancy of its zodiacal sign. The stone of the month was believed to exercise its therapeutic or talismanic virtue to the fullest extent at that period. Perhaps the fact that this entailed a monthly change of ornaments may rather have been a recommendation of the usage than the reverse.[427]

It seems highly probable that the development of the belief in natal stones that took place in Poland was due to the influence of the Jews who settled in that country shortly before we have historic notice of the use of the twelve stones for those born in the respective months. The lively interest always felt by the Jews regarding the gems of the breastplate, the many and various commentaries their learned men have written upon this subject, and the fact that the well-to-do among the chosen people have always carried with them in their wanderings many precious stones, all this seems to make it likely that to the Jews should be attributed the fashion of wearing natal stones.

However, whether this conjecture be correct or erroneous, the fashion once started became soon quite general and has as many votaries to-day as ever before. There can be no doubt that the owner of a ring or ornament set with a natal stone is impressed with the idea of possessing something more intimately associated with his or her personality than any other stone, however beautiful or costly it may be. If it be objected that this is nothing but imagination due to sentiment, we must bear in mind that imagination is one of the most potent factors in our life; indeed, the great Napoleon is quoted as saying that it ruled the world.

Probably the very earliest text we have in which the stones of the breastplate are positively associated with the months of the year is to be found in the “Antiquities of the Jews,” by Flavius Josephus.[428] This runs as follows:

Moreover, the vestments of the high-priest being made of linen signifies the earth, the blue denotes the sky, being like lightning in its pomegranates, and resembling thunder in the noise of the bells. And as for the ephod, it showed that God had made the universe of four elements, and as for the gold interwoven in it, I suppose it related to the splendor by which all things are to be enlightened. He also appointed the breastplate to be placed in the middle of the ephod to resemble the earth, for that occupies the middle place in the world; and the girdle, which encompassed the high priest about, signifies the ocean, for that goes about everything. And the two sardonyxes that were in the clasps on the high-priest’s shoulders, indicate to us the sun and the moon. And for the twelve stones, whether we understand by them the months, or the twelve signs of what the Greeks call the zodiac, we shall not be mistaken in their meaning. And for the cap, which was of a blue color, it seems to me to mean heaven, for otherwise the name of God would not have been inscribed upon it. That it was also adorned with a crown, and that of gold also, is because of the splendor with which God is pleased.

This passage was adapted by St. Jerome, three hundred years later, in his letter to Fabiola,[429] and undoubtedly laid the foundation for the later custom of wearing one of these stones as a natal or birth-stone for a person born in a given month, or for an astral or zodiacal stone for one born under a given zodiacal sign. As we see, both uses are indicated by the passage of Josephus. In the later centuries, as the book of Revelation, which was generally less favored at the outset than the other parts of the New Testament, became a subject of devout study, and a mine of mystical suggestions, the twelve foundation stones (Rev. xxi, 19) of the New Jerusalem largely took the place of the stones of the breastplate. While this list of foundation stones is unquestionably based upon the much earlier list of the stones adorning Aaron’s breastplate, the ordering differs considerably and there are some changes in the material; possibly many, if not all, of these differences may be due to textual errors or to a transcription from memory.

That the foundation stones were inscribed with the names of the apostles is expressly stated (Rev. xxi, 14), but it was not until the eighth or ninth century that the commentators on Revelation busied themselves with finding analogies between these stones and the apostles. At the outset, the symbolism of the stones was looked upon from a purely religious standpoint. Few of the early fathers—we may except Epiphanius—thought or cared much for the stones themselves, or knew much of them; but, in time, their natural beauty became more and more highly developed as the lapidarian art demanded better cut and choicer material, their supposed virtues came to the fore, and the symbolism was strengthened and emphasized by a reference to their innate qualities and also to their peculiar powers. The fact that this part of the tradition was rather of pagan than of Christian origin probably contributed to render it less attractive to the early Christians, so that it was not until Christianity had become practically universal in the Greek and Roman world and the opposition to pagan traditions, as such, was weakened and, indeed, largely forgotten, that the virtues of the stones were made prominent, and certain parts of these superstitions were retained, as were some of the pagan ceremonies in the Christian religion.

One of the earliest writers to associate directly with the apostles the symbolism of the gems given as foundation stones of the New Jerusalem by St. John in Revelation xxi, 19, is Andreas, bishop of Cæsarea. This author was at one time assigned by critics to the fifth century A.D.,[430] but more recent investigation has shown that he probably belonged to the last half of the tenth century. His exposition reads as follows:[431]

The jasper, which like the emerald is of a greenish hue, probably signifies St. Peter, chief of the apostles, as one who so bore Christ’s death in his inmost nature that his love for Him was always vigorous and fresh. By his fervent faith he has become our shepherd and leader.

As the sapphire is likened to the heavens (from this stone is made a color popularly called lazur), I conceive it to mean St. Paul, since he was caught up to the third heaven, where his soul was firmly fixed. Thither he seeks to draw all those who may be obedient to him.

The chalcedony was not inserted in the high-priest’s breastplate, but instead the carbuncle, of which no mention is made here. It may well be, however, that the author designated the carbuncle by the name chalcedony. Andrew, then, can be likened to the carbuncle, since he was splendidly illumined by the fire of the Spirit.

The emerald, which is of a green color, is nourished with oil, that its transparency and beauty may not change; we conceive this stone to signify John the Evangelist. He, indeed, soothed the souls dejected by sin with a divine oil, and by the grace of his excellent doctrine lends constant strength to our faith.

By the sardonyx, showing with a certain transparency and purity the color of the human nail, we believe that James is denoted, seeing that he bore death for Christ before all others. This the nail by its color indicates, for it may be cut off without any sensible pain.

The sardius with its tawny and translucent coloring suggests fire, and it possesses the virtue of healing tumors and wounds inflicted by iron; hence I consider that it designates the beauty of virtue characterizing the apostle Philip, for his virtue, animated by the fire of the Holy Spirit, cured the soul of the wounds inflicted by the wiles of the devil, and revived it.

The chrysolite, gleaming with the splendor of gold, may symbolize Bartholomew, since he was illustrious for his divine preaching and his store of virtues.

The beryl, imitating the colors of the sea and of the air, and not unlike the jacinth, seems to suggest the admirable Thomas, especially as he made a long journey by sea, and even reached the Indies, sent by God to preach salvation to the peoples of that region.

The topaz, which is of a ruddy color, resembling somewhat the carbuncle, stops the discharge of the milky fluid with which those having eye-disease suffer. This seems to denote Matthew, for he was animated by a divine zeal, and, his blood being fired because of Christ, he was found worthy to enlighten by his Gospel those whose heart was blinded, that they might like new-born children drink of the milk of the faith.

The chrysoprase, more brightly tinged with a golden hue than gold itself, symbolizes St. Thaddæus; the gold (chrysos) symbolizing the kingdom of Christ, and the prassius, Christ’s death, both of which he preached to Abgar, King of Edessa.

The jacinth, which is of a celestial hue, signifies Simon Zelotes, zealous for the gifts and grace of Christ and endowed with a celestial prudence.

By the amethyst, which shows to the onlooker a fiery aspect, is signified Matthias, who in the gift of tongues was so filled with celestial fire and with fervent zeal to serve and please God, who had chosen him, that he was found worthy to take the place of the apostate Judas.

Some theologians were opposed to the assignment of the foundation stones to the apostles, for they held that only Christ himself could be regarded as the foundation of his Church. Hence the symbolism of these stones was made to apply to Christ alone, the color of the stone often guiding the commentator in his choice of ideas denoted by the different gems. Thus, one writer, applying all the meanings to Christ, finds that the greenish Jasper denotes satisfaction; the sky-blue Sapphire, the soul; the bright-red Chalcedony, zeal for truth; the transparent green Emerald, kindness and goodness; the nail-colored Sardonyx, the strength of spiritual life; the red Sardius, readiness to shed His blood for the Church; the yellow Chrysolite, the excellence of His divine nature; the sea-green Beryl, moderation and the control of the passions; the glass-green Topaz (chrysolite?), uprightness; the harsh-colored Chrysoprase, sternness towards sinners; the violet or purple Jacinth, royal dignity, and, lastly, the purple Amethyst, with a touch of red, perfection.[432]

Andreas of Cæsarea freely recognizes his indebtedness to the much more ancient source, St. Epiphanius, bishop of Constantia in Cyprus, who died in 402 A.D., and who wrote a short but very valuable treatise on the stones of the breastplate, noting in several cases the therapeutic and talismanic virtues of these stones and giving his opinion as to the order in which the names of the tribes were inscribed upon them.[433] As the foundation stones of Revelation are rightly called “apostolic stones,” so those of the breastplate merit the designation of “tribal stones,” as well as that of astral stones; indeed, the Jews of medieval times definitely associated the tribes with the zodiacal signs in the following order:

Judah	Aries
Issachar	Taurus
Zebulun	Gemini
Reuben	Cancer
Simeon	Leo
Gad	Virgo
Ephraim	Libra
Manasseh	Scorpio
Benjamin	Sagittarius
Dan	Capricorn
Naphtali	Aquarius
Asher	Pisces

For Rabanus Maurus the nine gems of the king of Tyre named in Ezekiel xxxviii, 13, are types of the nine orders of angels, just as the twelve foundation stones of Revelation signify the twelve apostles.[434]

It is evident, from early and later usage, that, at the place and time where and when these stones were first utilized for birth-stones, the year must have begun with the month of March. This will be apparent when we compare the following eight lists, carefully gathered from various sources:

Month	Jews	Romans	Isidore Bishop of Seville	Arabians
January	Garnet	Garnet	Hyacinth	Garnet
February	Amethyst	Amethyst	Amethyst	Amethyst
March	Jasper	Bloodstone	Jasper	Bloodstone
April	Sapphire	Sapphire	Sapphire	Sapphire
May	Chalcedony Carnelian Agate	Agate	Agate	Emerald
June	Emerald	Emerald	Emerald	Agate Chalcedony Pearl
July	Onyx	Onyx	Onyx	Carnelian
August	Carnelian	Carnelian	Carnelian	Sardonyx
September	Chrysolite	Sardonyx	Chrysolite	Chrysolite
October	Aquamarine	Aquamarine	Aquamarine	Aquamarine
November	Topaz	Topaz	Topaz	Topaz
December	Ruby	Ruby	Ruby	Ruby

The table has been divided at this point.

Month	Poles	Russians	Italians	15th to 20th Century
January	Garnet	Garnet Hyacinth	Jacinth Garnet	Garnet
February	Amethyst	Amethyst	Amethyst	Amethyst Hyacinth Pearl
March	Bloodstone	Jasper	Jasper	Jasper Bloodstone
April	Diamond	Sapphire	Sapphire	Diamond Sapphire
May	Emerald	Emerald	Agate	Emerald Agate
June	Agate Chalcedony	Agate Chalcedony	Emerald	Cat’s-eye Turquoise Agate
July	Ruby	Ruby Sardonyx	Onyx	Turquoise Onyx
August	Sardonyx	Alexandrite	Carnelian	Sardonyx Carnelian Moonstone Topaz
September	Sardonyx	Chrysolite	Chrysolite	Chrysolite
October	Aquamarine	Beryl	Beryl	Beryl Opal
November	Topaz	Topaz	Topaz	Topaz Pearl
December	Turquoise	Turquoise Chrysoprase	Ruby	Ruby Bloodstone

It may be interesting to show in these eight lists the stones which are most favored in each month in the following way, the numerals indicating the number of lists in which the stones appear (including the alternate stones):

January	Garnet 7, hyacinth 2.
February	Amethyst 8, hyacinth 1, pearl 1.
March	Jasper 5, bloodstone 4.
April	Sapphire 7, diamond 2.
May	Agate 5, emerald 4, chalcedony 1, carnelian 1.
June	Emerald 4, agate 4, chalcedony 3, turquoise 1, pearl 1, cat’s-eye 1.
July	Onyx 5, sardonyx 1, carnelian 1, ruby 1, turquoise 1.
August	Carnelian 5, sardonyx 3, moonstone 1, topaz 1, alexandrite1.
September	Chrysolite 6, sardonyx 2.
October	Beryl, 8, aquamarine 5, opal 1.
November	Topaz 8, pearl 1.
December	Ruby 6, turquoise 2, chrysoprase 1, bloodstone 1.

With the exception of January, where we have the garnet instead of the jacinth, and of December, which gives us the ruby instead of the chrysoprase, the first choices are practically identical with the foundation stones, bearing in mind that the eleventh stone is that for January, the twelfth that for February, the first that for March and so on.

Of the assignment of the natal stones to the different months of the year or to the zodiacal signs, Poujet fils, writing in 1762, states that in his opinion this fashion started in Germany—others say in Poland—some two centuries before his time, and he adds that, though this arrangement was purely imaginary, and unknown to ancient writers, it soon became popular, and many, more especially of the fair sex, seeing in it an element of mystery, wished to wear rings set with the stone appropriate to the month of their birth, the stone being engraved with the appropriate zodiacal sign.[435] However correct Poujet may be regarding the period at which the fashion of wearing natal rings was introduced, he is, as we have already shown, quite wrong in believing that the serial arrangement of the stones and their assignment to months or signs was purely imaginary, for it is unquestionably based on the list in Revelation, which in its turn goes back to the twelve stones of the high-priest’s breastplate.

FACSIMILE OF THE BETROTHAL RING OF THE VIRGIN IN THE CATHEDRAL OF PERUGIA.

The original ring, which is of chalcedony, is shown on St. Agatha’s Day, July 29, to cure ailments of mothers. This cord and facsimile of ring acquired by the author at Perugia, May 6, 1902.

The fashion of wearing a series of twelve stones denoting (or bearing) the zodiacal signs seems to have existed in the sixteenth century, for Catherine de’ Medici is said to have worn a girdle set with twelve stones, among which were certain onyxes as large as crownpieces, upon which talismanic designs had been engraved. Two hundred years later this girdle is stated to have been in the possession of a M. d’Ennery, whose collection of antique medals was regarded as the finest in Paris at the time.[436] It is not, however, certain that the twelve stones of Catherine’s girdle were those attributed to the zodiacal signs both at an earlier and later period.

Though the substitution of a new schedule for the time-honored list of birth-stones has received the approval of the National Association of Jewellers at the meeting in Kansas City August, 1912, it can scarcely be said to offer a satisfactory solution of the question, which has its importance not only from a commercial point of view, but also because the idea that birth-stones possess a certain indefinable, but none the less real significance, has long been present and still exercises a spell over the minds of all who are gifted with a touch of imagination, or romance, if you will. The longing for something that appeals to this sense is much more general than is commonly supposed, and is a not unnatural reaction against the progress of materialism, against the assertion that there is nothing in heaven or earth but what we can definitely apprehend through our senses.

It is this persuasion that should be chiefly considered in any attempt to tamper with the traditional attribution of the stones to particular months or to the zodiacal signs. Once we allow the spirit of commercialism pure and simple to dictate the choice of such stones, according to the momentary interest of dealers, there is grave danger that the only true incentive to acquire birth-stones will be weakened and people will lose interest in them. Sentiment, true sentiment, is one of the best things in human nature. While if darkened by fear it may lead to pessimism, with all the evils which such a state of mind implies, if illumined by hope it gives to humanity a brighter forecast of the future, an optimism that helps people over difficult passages in their lives. Thus, sentiment must not be neglected, and nothing is more likely to destroy it than the conviction that it is being constantly exploited for purposes of commercialism. For this reason, the interest as well as the inclination of all who are concerned in this question of birth-stones should induce a very careful handling of the subject.

Quite true it is that there are now, and have been in the past, several lists of these stones, differing slightly from one another, but all are based essentially either upon the list of foundation stones given in Revelation (xxi, 19) or upon that of the gems adorning the breastplate of Aaron and enumerated in Exodus (xxxix, 10-13). For convenient reference, we give the latter according to the Authorized Version of the Scriptures, and also as corrected by later research, and the former according to the Authorized Version.

	Breastplate.		Foundation Stones.
	Authorized Version.	Later Correction.	Authorized Version.
I	Sardius	Carnelian	Jasper
II	Topaz	Chrysolite (peridot)	Sapphire
III	Carbuncle	Emerald	Chalcedony
IV	Emerald	Ruby	Emerald
V	Sapphire	Lapis-lazuli	Sardonyx
VI	Diamond	Onyx	Sardius
VII	Ligure	Sapphire	Chrysolite
VIII	Agate	Agate	Beryl
IX	Amethyst	Amethyst	Topaz
X	Beryl	Topaz	Chrysoprasus
XI	Onyx	Beryl	Jacinth
XII	Jasper	Jasper	Amethyst

While the arrangement differs in Revelation, the stones are nearly identical. For chalcedonius, we should probably read carchedonius, a name of the ruby; sardonyx is the onyx of Exodus; the jacinth (sapphire) is probably the “ligure”; the sapphire was the lapis-lazuli, and sardius is equivalent to carnelian. There thus remains only the chrysoprase, which for some reason has substituted the agate. In the eventual association of the foundation stones with the months, the first, the jasper, was assigned to March, with which month the year was reckoned to begin.

The list suggested and adopted in Kansas City reads as follows:

Month.	Birth-stone.	Alternate Stone.
January	Garnet
February	Amethyst
March	Bloodstone	Aquamarine
April	Diamond
May	Emerald
June	Pearl	Moonstone
July	Ruby
August	Sardonyx	Peridot
September	Sapphire
October	Opal	Tourmaline
November	Topaz
December	Turquoise	Lapis-lazuli

Among the many changes in this list from that habitually followed, it will be noted that the ruby is transferred from December to July, changing places with the turquoise, which became the gem of December. This has been favored on the ground that the warmer-colored gem was best adapted for a July birth-stone, while the paler turquoise was best suited to a winter month, when the sun’s rays are feeble. The contrary, however, is true; for it is in winter that we seek for warmth, while in the heat of summer nothing is more grateful than coolness. This transposition is, in effect, simply a return to the ordering of these stones in the Polish list, which may perhaps have become popular in Europe in the eighteenth century through Marie Leczinska, the queen of Louis XV. Another undesirable change takes the chrysolite (peridot) from the place it has always occupied as the gem of September, and makes of it an alternate for August, with the sardonyx, while the sapphire, properly the gem for April, is made the birth-stone for September. For October neither the tourmaline nor the opal is as appropriate as the beryl, while for June we should prefer the asteria to the moonstone as a substitute for the pearl.

This suggested radical change or violation cannot be permitted. The time-honored ordering is familiar now to all who are interested in the matter, and any change, even if one apparently for the better, is liable to disturb the popular confidence in those who are supposed to be familiar with the subject. Above all, there should be no duplication or triplication of birth-stones for any given month, the choice between a birth-stone or an astral or zodiacal stone or the combination of these affording all the variety that is necessary or should be desired.

As the diamond does not appear to have been known to the ancients and is not given in any of the lists of birth-stones before the last century, and as diamonds, like gold and platinum, may easily be used as accessories to other stones, would it not perhaps be better to omit the diamond from the list of the stones of the months, and rather use these gems as a bordering or other ornate addition to the stone of the month? The pearl, which is not a stone in any sense of the word, should not appear in the list at all; but it can be worn in some device suggesting a sentiment, as, for instance, an emblem of purity, etc.

The tourmaline, as a gem only known in modern times or since the eighteenth century, seems out of place in the list of birth-stones, which ought only to comprise precious or semi-precious stones which have been known and worn from ancient times.

“Astral stones” or “zodiacal stones” are terms used to designate those gems which were believed to be peculiarly and mystically related to the zodiacal signs. While these signs constitute a twelve-fold division of the year just as do the months, they do not exactly coincide with the latter as now reckoned, but overlap them, so that the sign Aquarius, for instance, covers the period from January 21 to February 20, that of Pisces from February 21 to March 20, that of Aries, the spring sign, from March 21 to April 20, and so on down to Capricornus, which begins at the winter solstice. Thus, every necessary opportunity is afforded for enlarging the selection of natal stones while preserving the traditional order of those appropriate to the months, an order which in its origin dates back to the early Christian centuries and which, from the close relation with the sacred gems of the Scriptures, it seems almost sacrilegious to violate by arbitrary changes.

CARNELIAN, ENGRAVED WITH THE ZODIACAL SIGNS, TAURUS, LEO AND CAPRICORN; IN THE CENTRE A SIX-RAYED STAR, THE FORM OF ONE OF THESE RAYS DENOTING A COMET. (See p. [341].)

Referred to the nativity of Augustus and to a comet which appeared shortly after the assassination of Julius Cæsar. From De Mairan’s “Lettres au R. P. Parrenin,” Paris, 1770, opp. p. 274.

Then, in addition, we have the “talismanic gems,” or the stones of the twelve guardian angels, one set over all those born in each month. Here we have another time-honored list, differing from either of those mentioned above, so that, in almost if not quite every case, each person has the choice between three different stones as “birth-stones,” or can have them combined in an artistic jewel so as to profit by all the favorable influences promised by the old authorities Thus, there is absolutely no excuse for playing fast and loose with an ancient, popular, and quasi-religious belief in the special virtue of one particular stone for each month, and that one the gem long prescribed by usage

As it might seem appropriate that one born in the United States should wear a gem from among those which our country furnishes, the following list was some time since prepared by the writer, not in any sense as a substitute for the real birth-stones, but as possible accessory gems (when they were not identical), gems which might be worn from a spirit of patriotism Of course where the stone in question is really that traditionally recommended, the fact that it is at the same time an American gem-stone is an added argument in its favor

Month.	Stones.	Where found.
January	Garnet, rhodolite	Montana, New Mexico, Arizona, North Carolina
February	Amethyst	North Carolina, Georgia, Virginia
March	Californite	California
April	Sapphire	Montana, Idaho
May	Green tourmaline	Lake Superior
June	Moss-agate	California, Montana, Wyoming, Arizona
July	Turquoise	New Mexico, California, Arizona
August	Golden beryl	California, Connecticut, North Carolina
September	Kunzite	California
October	Aquamarine	North Carolina, Maine, California
November	Topaz	Utah, California, Maine
December	Rubellite	Montana

The year is divided into four seasons or cycles,—spring, summer, fall, and winter,—and each season has its particular gem The emerald is the gem of the spring, the ruby the gem of summer, the sapphire the gem of autumn, and the diamond the gem of winter

For spring, no precious stone is more appropriate than the emerald. Its beautiful color is that of Nature, for Nature clothes herself with green when she awakens from her long rest of winter. Having decked herself with green of the various tints and colors, she has selected a background by which a contrast is made for the flowers that come in the spring and summer and ripen into fruit and seeds of autumn. To be a seasonable gem it must be rare, and the emerald is rare. Whether found in the mines of Bogotá, whether mined in ancient times at Zabarah in Egypt, or in the past century in the Ural Mountains, it has never been found in abundance. It is softer in color than the ruby and less hard in structure.

The ruby, although as a natal stone it belongs to December, is the gem of summer. It is born in the hot climates,—the pigeon’s-blood ruby in Burma, the pomegranate-red in Ceylon, and the more garnet-hued type in Siam,—these three equatorial countries produce the ruby. Those of large size are always rare, and this is the gem which Job valued more highly than any other, although “garnet” may perhaps be a better rendering. It is on an equal plane in hardness, in composition, in crystalline structure, and in every way, with the sapphire. These are sister gems, structurally alike, yet varying in complexion, due to a slight difference which some scientists think is not even dependent upon the coloring matter.

The sapphire—the gem of autumn, the blue of the autumn sky—is a symbol of truth, sincerity, and constancy. Less vivid than its sister gem, the ruby, it typifies calm and tried affection, not ardent passion; it is therefore appropriate to the autumn season, when the declining sun no longer sends forth the fiery rays of summer but shines with a tempered brilliancy.

The diamond, the gem of winter, typifying the sun, is the gem of light. Its color is that of ice, and as the dewdrop or the drop of water from a mountain stream sparkles in the light of the sun, as the icicle sparkles in winter, and the stars on a cold winter night, so the diamond sparkles, and it combines and contrasts with all known gems. Like light, it illumines them just as the sun does the plants of the earth. The diamond, the gem of light, like light itself when broken into a spectrum, gives us all known colors, and by combining all these colors it gives us white. Like gold, the diamond was made rare, so that it must be searched for, and the mines and deposits contain less of these two substances in a given area than of any other known materials. It is thirty to a hundred times more rare than gold, for if gold occurs one part in 250,000, it can scarcely be worked with profit, while the diamond can be worked to advantage when found only one part in 10,000,000,—yes, even one part in 25,000,000—and, like gold, it sometimes spurs the searcher on to wealth or to ruin. As great nuggets of gold have occasionally been found, so has a diamond been discovered large enough to make the greatest ruler pause to pay its price, and one which it took an entire country to give to that ruler who sways his sceptre over countries in which the world’s greatest diamonds have been found.

When the God of the Mines called his courtiers to bring him all known gems, he found them to be of all colors and tints, and of varying hardnesses, such as the ruby, emerald, sapphire, etc., etc. He took one of each; he crushed them; he compounded them, and said: “Let this be something that will combine the beauty of all; yet it must be pure, and it must be invincible.” He spoke: and lo! the diamond was born, pure as the dewdrop and invincible in hardness; but when its ray is resolved in the spectrum, it displays all the colors of the gems from which it was made “Mine,” said the god, “must be the gem of the universe; for my queen I will create one that shall be the greatest gem of the sea,” and for her he created the pearl

Gems of Spring	Gems of Summer
Amethyst Green diamond Chrysoberyl Spinel (rubicelle) Pink topaz Olivine (peridot) Emerald	Zircon Garnet (demantoid and ouvarite) Chrysoberyl (alexandrite) Spinel Pink topaz Ruby Fire opal
Gems of Autumn	Gems of Winter
Hyacinth Topaz Sapphire Jacinth Cairngorm Adamantine spar Tourmaline Oriental chrysolite	Diamond Rock-crystal White sapphire Turquoise Quartz Moonstone Pearl Labradorite

• Amethyst
• Green diamond
• Chrysoberyl
• Spinel (rubicelle)
• Pink topaz
• Olivine (peridot)
• Emerald

• Zircon
• Garnet (demantoid and ouvarite)
• Chrysoberyl (alexandrite)
• Spinel
• Pink topaz
• Ruby
• Fire opal

• Hyacinth
• Topaz
• Sapphire
• Jacinth
• Cairngorm
• Adamantine spar
• Tourmaline
• Oriental chrysolite

• Diamond
• Rock-crystal
• White sapphire
• Turquoise
• Quartz
• Moonstone
• Pearl
• Labradorite