CATALOGUE OF GEMS AND PRECIOUS STONES. 173 



Arabian and Persian writers taught that the wearer of the ruby 

 obtained peace of mind and strength of brain. 



A durm dose of it, taken internally, cures epilepsy, insanity, cholera, and the spit- 

 ting of Mood; causes free circidation of hlood throughout the system, and prevents 

 uneasiness of mind. It cures all kinds of poisonings from snake hite or from admin- 

 instration of poison by enemies. It frees the atmosphere from the pollution engen- 

 dered by cholera. It purifies the blood and brings back to its normal state the 

 fatally quick action of the pulse. The wearer of the ruby in the form of a finger 

 ring obtains from the deity all the desires of his heart and becomes proof against 

 thunder stroke and cholera. Worn over the eyes or applied to them as an ointment 

 it cures all complaints of the vision; over the mouth it takes away the bad smell of 

 it, allays thirst, and gives constant satisfaction to the mind. It brings honor to the 

 wearer. The dose for internal use is from 1 kirat (4 barleycorns) to 1 dang (16 bar- 

 leycorns). (See the work Karabadin Kabir, as cited by Tagore in his Treatise on 

 Gems.) 



The ruby enters into the Chinese pharmacopoeia as an ingredient in 

 the "five precious fragments," supposed to consist of ruby, topaz, 

 emerald, sapphire, and hyacinth. 



The Hindu writers held that those rubies — ■ 



which are flawless and of approved color are auspicious, produce health, wealth, 

 wisdom, and happiness. If flawed or offcolored they bring humiliation, loss of friends, 

 liability to wounds, loss of wealth, and lightning stroke; are fatal to domestic animals, 

 and are inimical to life, wealth, and fame. The man who treasures a ruby furnished 

 with every perfection, and which when cast in a quantity of milk a hundred times 

 its bulk, makes the white mass one entire sheet of red, or sends out a red flame, is as 

 meritorious as the celebration of the Aswamedha jajna. 1 Such a stone leads to wealth 

 success, happiness, and long life. (Mani-Mala.) 



Sapphire. — Emblematic of wisdom. If placed on the heart it 

 bestows strength and energy. St. Jerome states that the sapphire 

 procures royal favors, softens anger, frees people from enchantment, 

 obtains release from captivity, and prevents evil and impure thoughts. 



Because of its extreme coldness it was thought to preserve the 

 chastity of its wearer, hence especially suited for ecclesiastical 

 rings. 



Worn in a ring or in any other manner it is able to quench concupiscence, and for 

 this reason it is proper to be worn by the priesthood and by all persons vowed to 

 perpetual chastity. It is said to grow dull if worn by an adulterous or lascivious 

 person. 



It rendered its wearer chaste, virtuous, pious, devout, wise, amiable, 

 and pacific. It cured boils, carbuncles, and headaches, rested and 

 refreshed the body, and gave a color to the cheeks. Taken with 

 milk it cured cramps. (Leonardus, Speculum Lapidum. 1502.) 



Soaked in vinegar its vinegar extract was administered in fevers; 

 powdered and soaked in vinegar for one phase of the moon, it was 

 given to insure continency and conjugal love. (Galen.) 



1 The Horse Sacrifice, a celebrated ceremony, the antiquity of which dates back to the Vedic period. 



