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.