162 BULLETIN 118, UNITED STATES NATIONAL MUSEUM. 



all the year. I have oftentimes tried the experiment, that if a man keep them with a 

 little of the rock, and wet them with May dew often, they shall grow every year and 

 the small will grow great. 



Speaking further concerning the diamond, Mandeville held that in 

 order to secure the greatest good from a diamond it should be worn 

 on the left side: 



For it is of greater virtue than on the right side; for the strength of their growing 

 is toward the north, that is the left side of the world, and the left part of a man is when 

 he turns his face toward the east. He who so carries the diamond upon him, it gives 

 him hardness and manhood, and it keeps the limbs of his body whole. It gives him 

 victory over his enemies, if his cause is just; and it keeps him that bears it in good wit; 

 and it keeps him from strife and riot; from sorrows and enchantments; and from 

 phantasies and illusions of wicked spirits. It makes a man stronger and firmer against 

 his enemies; and heals him that is a lunatic, and those whom the fiend pursues or 

 torments. And if venom or poison be brpught in presence of the diamond, anon it 

 begins to grow moist and sweat. Nevertheless, it happens often that the good dia- 

 mond loses its virtue by sin, and for incontinence of him who bears it; and then it 

 is needful to make it recover its virtue again, or else it is of little value. 



Pierre de Boniface, a fourteenth century alchemist, taught that one 

 of the virtues of the diamond was to render its wearer invisible and 

 invincible. 



In this connection the Shah of Persia is the possessor of a diamond 

 set in a scimitar which is believed to render him invincible so long as 

 he has it by him. The shah also has a five-pointed star of diamonds 

 which is thought to make conspirators instantly confess their crimes 

 when in its presence. 



A diamond ring was given to Mary, Queen of Scots, by Euthven, 

 as a talisman against danger and poison. The queen also possessed 

 two other diamonds — "one medicinable and against poison," the 

 other "medicinable for the collicke." 



According to the Puranas, the diamond varies in the preponderance 

 of one or the other of the five primal elements — 



Earth, water, sky, energy, and air. The "airy" sort gives heart and gracefulness, 

 the "skyey" diamonds bring about the possession of all kinds of wealth. The own- 

 ership and use of those lands in which energy predominates adds to puissance, hero- 

 ism, and hope. Those diamonds which are white like the jessamine flower, white 

 clouds, or the moon, and are possessed of six or eight corners, sharp ridged, that have 

 originated from water, and that shine in the darkness, lead to the instant cure of snake 

 bites, and prove efficacious in neutralizing the effects of other poisons, and prove a 

 panacea as soon as worn. 



Like men, diamonds are divided into castes — Brahmins, Vaisya, Kshatriyas, and 

 Sudra3. The wearing of superior Brahmin diamonds gives favor in the eyes of the 

 gods. The better sort of the Kshatriya class bring about uniform success, accession of 

 power, and destruction of foes. The best stones of the Vaisya class are productive 

 of fame, wisdom, and skill in the fine arts. The higher order of the Siidra caste induce 

 benevolence in their owner and make him hale and wealthy. 



As the promiscuous intercourse of one caste with another gives rise to mixed castes 

 among men, so it is with diamonds. These mixed castes give rise to impurities and 

 flaws in the stones, and which, according to their nature and kind, are fraught with 



