July, 1913. Notes on Turquois. 51 



dualistic principle of light and darkness, it is evident that brilliant 

 jewels were conceived by them as emblems of light and for this reason 

 were employed in their churches.^ 



Several examples of this kind may be gleaned from the newly 

 discovered Manichean treatise brilliantly translated by M. Chavannes 

 and -M. Pelliot in collaboration.^ Compassion is likened there to 

 "the precious pearl called the bright moon which is the first among all 

 jewels" (p. 67). The Messenger of Light is compared with "the per- 

 fumed mountain, vast and grand, of all jewels," and with "the precious 

 diamond pillar supporting the multitude of the beings" (p. 90). "Our 

 heart has received the maj.estic splendor of the pearl granting every 

 wish," it is said at the end of this treatise (p. 92). Such like thoughts 

 may explain the utilization of pearls in the Manichean church of Sze- 

 ch'uan. • We know also that the adherents of Mani were fond of flowers, 

 perfumes and ornaments, and in the same book (p. 61)^ there is 

 even a legend in regard to the origin of jewels which seems to be connect- 

 ed with their beliefs of resurrection. The dying Manichean was 

 adorned with rich ornaments (apparently symbolic of light) to be 

 prepared for admission into the luminous regions. The gods approach 

 the dead with ornaments which have the effect of putting the present 

 devils to flight.^ It does' not seem to be known what symbolism the 

 Manjcheans attached to the balas ruby.* But as the lost -literature of 



' The basis of this symbolism certainly is to be traced to the writings of the New 

 Testament, especially Revelation XXI, 18-21, and presents the counterpart to 

 the mystic and moralizing ideas associated by mediaeval Christian writers with the 

 twelve precious stones in the breastplate of the Jewish High Priest, the twelve jewels 

 forming the foundations of the wall of Heavenly Jerusalem just referred to, and the 

 jewels in the crown of the Virgin. Among the latter, the balas ruby appears in the 

 fifteenth century in the story of the visions of Sainte Frangoise where four other 

 stones not figuring among the twelve of the Bible are listed, — the diamond, garnet, 

 carnelian and turquois (L. Pannier, Les lapidaires frangais du moyen ^ge, p. 225, 

 Paris, 1882; see ibid., pp. 280-2, on the mediaeval beliefs regarding balas ruby). 

 Dante (Paradise IX, 67) extols the lustre of the balascio: L'altra letizia, che m'era 

 gik nota Preclara cosa, mi si fece in vista Qual fin balascio in che lo sol percota. The 

 ruby, in general, was emblematic of glory, and with predilection, chosen for the rings 

 of the bishops (H. Clifford Smith, Jewellery, p. 148, New York, 1908, and D. 

 Rock, Church of our Fathers, Vol. II, p. 171, London, 1849, where a gold pontifical 

 ring with a sapphire surrounded by four balas rubies is mentioned). 



^ Un traits manich^en retrouv6 en Chine. Extrait du Journal asiatique, Paris, 

 1912. 



' G. Flugel, Mani, seine Lehre und seine Schriften, pp. 268, 339 (Leipzig, 1862). 



* Some of the symbolism associated with the spinel in western Asia may be 

 gleaned from the Armenian lapidarium translated into Russian by K. P. Patkanov 

 (p. 19): "The spinel shares with the ruby in the quality tha* it quenches thirst, as 

 soon as it is placed in the mouth. When pounded and mixed with a medicinal ex- 

 tract, it gladdens man and removes from him grief and sorrow. Mixed with an un- 

 guent and administered to the eyes, it strengthens their vision and renders man far- 

 sighted. Its nature is warm and dry. The sages say that the wearing of a spinel 

 protects one from all diseases, from pain in the loins; it safeguards man from bad 

 dreams and devils. The wearer of a spinel becomes agreeable to people." 



