CHAP. 54.—PEARLS; HOW THEY ARE PRODUCED, AND WHERE.
The first rank then, and the very highest position among all valuables, belongs to the pearl. It is the Indian Ocean that principally sends them to us: and thus have they, amid those monsters so frightful and so huge which we have already described,[2609] to cross so many seas, and to traverse such lengthened tracts of land, scorched by the ardent rays of a burning sun: and then, too, by the Indians themselves they have to be sought in certain islands, and those but very few in number. The most productive of pearls is the island of Taprobane, and that of Stoïdis, as already mentioned[2610] in the description of the world; Perimula,[2611] also, a promontory of India. But those are most highly valued which are found in the vicinity of Arabia,[2612] in the Persian Gulf, which forms a part of the Red Sea.
The origin[2613] and production of the shell-fish is not very different from that of the shell of the oyster. When the genial season of the year[2614] exercises its influence on the animal, it is said that, yawning, as it were, it opens its shell, and so receives a kind of dew, by means of which it becomes impregnated; and that at length it gives birth, after many struggles, to the burden of its shell, in the shape of pearls, which vary according to the quality of the dew. If this has been in a perfectly pure state when it flowed into the shell, then the pearl produced is white and brilliant, but if it was turbid, then the pearl is of a clouded colour also; if the sky should happen to have been lowering when it was generated, the pearl will be of a pallid colour; from all which it is quite evident that the quality of the pearl depends much more upon a calm state of the heavens than of the sea, and hence it is that it contracts a cloudy hue, or a limpid appearance, according to the degree of serenity of the sky in the morning.
If, again, the fish is satiated in a reasonable time, then the pearl produced increases rapidly in size. If it should happen to lighten at the time, the animal shuts its shell, and the pearl is diminished in size in proportion to the fast that the animal has to endure: but if, in addition to this, it should thunder[2615] as well, then it becomes alarmed, and closing the shell in an instant, produces what is known as a physema,[2616] or pearl-bubble, filled with air, and bearing a resemblance to a pearl, but in appearance only, as it is quite empty, and devoid of body; these bubbles are formed by the abortion of the shell-fish. Those which are produced in a perfectly healthy state consist of numerous layers, so that they may be looked upon, not inappropriately, as similar in conformation to the callosities on the body of an animal; and they should therefore be cleaned by experienced hands. It is wonderful, however, that they should be influenced thus pleasurably by the state of the heavens, seeing that by the action of the sun the pearls are turned of a red colour, and lose all their whiteness, just like the human body. Hence it is that those which keep their whiteness the best are the pelagiæ, or main-sea pearls, which lie at too great a depth to be reached by the sun’s rays; and yet these even turn yellow with age, grow dull and wrinkled, and it is only in their youth that they possess that brilliancy which is so highly esteemed in them. When old, too, the coat grows thick, and they adhere to the shell,[2617] from which they can only be separated with the assistance of a file.[2618] Those pearls which have one surface flat and the other spherical, opposite to the plane side, are for that reason called tympania,[2619] or tambour-pearls. I have seen pearls still adhering to the shell; for which reason the shells were used as boxes for unguents. In addition to these facts, we may remark that the pearl is soft[2620] in the water, but that it grows hard the instant it is taken out.
CHAP. 55.—HOW PEARLS ARE FOUND.
The fish, as soon as ever it perceives the hand,[2621] shuts its shell and covers up its treasures, being well aware that it is for them that it is sought; and if it happens to catch the hand,[2622] it cuts it off with the sharp edge of the shell. And no punishment is there that could be more justly inflicted. There are other penalties added as well, seeing that the greater part of these pearls are only to be found among rocks and crags, while on the other hand, those which lie out in the main sea are generally accompanied by sea-dogs.[2623] And yet, for all this, the women will not banish these gems from their ears! Some writers say,[2624] that these animals live in communities, just like swarms of bees, each of them being governed by one remarkable for its size and its venerable old age;[2625] while at the same time it is possessed of marvellous skill in taking all due precautions against danger; the divers, they say, take especial care to find these, and when once they are taken, the others stray to and fro, and are easily caught in their nets. We learn also that as soon as they are taken they are placed under a thick layer of salt in earthen-ware vessels; as the flesh is gradually consumed, certain knots,[2626] which form the pearls, are disengaged[2627] from their bodies, and fall to the bottom of the vessel.
CHAP. 56.—THE VARIOUS KINDS OF PEARLS.
There is no doubt that pearls wear with use, and will change their colour, if neglected. All their merit consists in their whiteness, large size, roundness, polish, and weight; qualities which are not easily to be found united in the same; so much so, indeed, that no two pearls are ever found perfectly alike; and it was from this circumstance, no doubt, that our Roman luxury first gave them the name of “unio,”[2628] or the unique gem: for a similar name is not given them by the Greeks; nor, indeed, among the barbarians by whom they are found are they called anything else but “margaritæ.”[2629] Even in the very whiteness of the pearl there is a great difference to be observed. Those are of a much clearer water that are found in the Red Sea,[2630] while the Indian pearl resembles in tint the scales[2631] of the mirror-stone, but exceeds all the others in size. The colour that is most highly prized of all, is that of those which are thence called alum-coloured[2632] pearls. Long pearls also have their peculiar value; those are called “elenchi,” which are of a long tapering shape, resembling our alabaster[2633] boxes in form, and ending in a full bulb.[2634] Our ladies quite glory in having these suspended from their fingers, or two or three of them dangling from their ears. For the purpose of ministering to these luxurious tastes, there are various names and wearisome refinements which have been devised by profuseness and prodigality; for after inventing these ear-rings, they have given them the name of “crotalia,”[2635] or castanet pendants, as though quite delighted even with the rattling of the pearls as they knock against each other; and now, at the present day, the poorer classes are even affecting them, as people are in the habit of saying, that “a pearl worn by a woman in public, is as good as a lictor[2636] walking before her.” Nay, even more than this, they put them on their feet, and that, not only on the laces of their sandals, but all over the shoes;[2637] it is not enough to wear pearls, but they must tread upon them, and walk with them under foot as well.
Pearls used formerly to be found in our sea, but more frequently about the Thracian Bosporus;[2638] they were of a red colour, and small,[2639] and enclosed in a shell-fish known by the name of “myes.” In Acarnania there is a shell-fish called “pina,”[2640] which produces pearls; and from this it is quite evident that it is not one kind of fish only that produces them. Juba states also, that on the shores of Arabia there is a shell-fish which resembles a notched comb, and covered all over with hair[2641] like a sea-urchin, and that the pearl lies imbedded in its flesh, in appearance bearing a strong resemblance to a hailstone.[2642] No such shell-fish, however, as these are ever brought to Rome. Nor yet are any pearls of value found in Acarnania, being shapeless, rough, and of a marble hue; those are better which are found in the vicinity of Actium; but still they are small, which is the case also with those found on the coast of Mauritania. Alexander Polyhistor and Sudines[2643] are of opinion that as they grow old their tints gradually fade.