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SPIRIT BASIS OF BELIEF AND CUSTOM.
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rosaries. Coral is worn in turbans and on the handles of daggers and swords to keep off the Evil Eye. Coral ornaments are laid with the dead that vampires and other evils may not house themselves in the corpse.34 As an amulet Boetius and Dioscorides (about A. DC 100) found coral efficacious against the delusions of the devil,35 From the third century to the eleventh century A. D., coral was & talisman against enchantments, witchcraft, thander, tempests, and other perils. Coral also preserved crops from drought, hail, caterpillars, worms and rust.36 According to Ovid coral stops bleeding, according to Orpheus it cures scorpion stings, according to Lucullus its soft smell keeps off lightning. The Spaniards say, coral keeps off lightning, hail, and fascination. The Italians and the English agree that it saves children from witchery and the Evil Eye.37 The chrysolite cooled wrath and boiling water, and by its' pallour warned against poison.38 The Greek gods (B. C. 500) could not stand against the power of crystal,39 In the Scottish Highlands, from the early times of Ossian (A. D. 100-600), rock crystal and cairngorm have been known as stones of power and stones of virtue. They were a sovran remody in disease. Till the close of the Middle Ages (Camillo Leonardo, 1503), crystal worn by sleepers scared evil dreams and baffled spells and witchcraft; taken powdered and mixed with honey it filled the breasts with milk. Dees' Crystal Globe (seventeenth century) and other crystal balls, some of which have been found in tombs, have magical powers. The Irish believe in the virtues of certain.pebbles which they keep on the altars of their churches. Water in which the stones are steeped cures cattle. In the Highlands of Scotland, crystal balls have healing power. If poison was poured into a crystal cup, the cup turned pale or broke 3 According to King the Romans prized the diamond, not for its beauty, but for its rarity and its extraordinary powers as an amulet. Its electric power of attracting, when heated by rubbing, and its phosphorence after being steeped in sunshine, fostered the belief in the magical powers of the diamond. According to Serapius and Camillo Leonardo (A. D. 1503), the diamond resists poison, and if taken inwardly is itself a deadly poison; it drives away lemures or ghosts, incubi and succubi, that is, night terrors; it baffles magic, gives success in law suits and makes the wearer brave and large-hearted.46 According to Pliny, the diamond destroys poison and cures insanity. The famous Mattan diamond of Borneo is the chief's talisman, on the possession of which depends the happiness of the Mattan family.47 Marbodus (A. D. 1070) mentions a stone called Dionysia, which turns water into wine and keeps wine from intoxicating. Among the Romans, the emerald was sacred to Mercury. The emerald gave warning of false evidence by changing colour. It was good for the eyes, helpful to women in child-birth, it heartened the wearer, and turned away the plague. It was an infallible preservative of chastity.50 In eleventh century Europe, the emerald was good in divination and increased the wearer's importance.51 According to Marbodus (A. D. 1070), the hyacinth gives safety in travelling and in bad air.53 According to Cardan (A. D. 1500), the hyacinth or jacinth makes rich, increases power, strengthens the heart, brightens the soul,
* Diamonds and Precious Stones, p. 215. About 1880, a piece of coral, along with a few child's bones, was found in a Buddhist stúpa or burying mound at Nasik by the late Dr. BhagwAnlal Indraji.
» Emanuel's Diamonds and Precious Stones, p. 816.
* Orpheus (A. D. 250) and Marbodus (A.D. 1070) in King's Antique Geme, pp. 403, 425, 426; Streeter's Precious Stones and Gems, p. 233.
97 Bassett's Bea Legends, p. 459; Napier's Folk Lore, p. 86. Emanuel's Diamonds and Ireciow Slones, p. 30. 5 Streeter's Precious stones and Gems, p. 17.
40 Clerk's Oasian, Vol. II. p. 151. "1 Emanuel's DiaNonds and Precious stones, p. 155.
43 King's Antique Gems, p. 94, 453. • Emanuel's Diamonds and Precious Stones, p. 8.
4 King's Antique Gem, p. 70. Op. cit. p. 419; Emanuel's Diamonds and Preciowe Stones, p. 29. Though the diamond is so lucky & stone it is remarkable (King's Antique Gems, p. 68) that the Hindus think the Köbinar a most unlucky stone. They say it ruined the Mughals, it destroyed the power of Nadir Shah, and after of Ahmad Shah Durrant, and of Ranjit Singh. Finally it caused the 1857 Mutinies.. * Mawe on Diamonds, p. 13.
T Streeter's Precious Stones and Gems, p. 122. 18 King's Antique Gems, p. 416.
** Emanuel's Diamonds and Precious Stones, p. 30. 50 Emanuel's Diamonds and Precious stones, p. 185. According to Marbodus (A.D. 1070) in King's Autique Gemis, p. 896, the emerald gave wealth and eloquence. 51 Marbodus in King's Antique Gems, p. 482
61 King's Antique Gome, p. 400,
