Cnap. 11.] COEAL. 11 



but of a more swarthy hue than ours. It is to be found also 

 in the Persian Gulf, where it is known by the name of " iace." 

 But the most highly-esteemed of all, is that produced in the 

 vicinity of the islands called Stoechades,'^ in the Gallic Gulf, 

 and near the ^olian Islands and the town of Drepana in the 

 Sea of Sicily. Coral is to be found growing, too, at Graviscse, 

 and off the coast of Neapolis in Campania : as also at Erythrse, 

 where it is intensely red, but soft, and consequently little 

 valued. 



Its form is that of a shrub,'^ and its colour green: its 

 berries are white and soft while under water, but the moment 

 they are removed from it, they become hard and red, resem- 

 bling the berries of cultivated cornel in size and appearance. 

 They say that, while alive, if it is only touched by a person, 

 it will immediately become as hard as stone ; and hence it is 

 that the greatest pains are taken to prevent this, by tearing it 

 up from the bottom with nets, or else cutting it short with, 

 a sharp- edged instrument of iron: from which last circum- 

 stance it is generally supposed to have received its name of 

 "curalium."'* The reddest coral and the most branchy is 

 held in the highest esteem ; but, at the same time, it must 

 not be rough or hard like stone ; nor yet, on the other hand, 

 should it be full of holes or hollow. 



The berries of coral are no less esteemed by the men in India 

 than are the pearls of that country by the females among us : 

 their soothsayers, too, and diviners look upon coral as an amu- 

 let endowed with sacred properties,'^ and a sure preservative 

 against all dangers : hence it is that they equally value it as 

 an ornament and as an object of devotion. Before it was 

 known in what estimation coral was held by the people of 

 India, the Gauls were in the habit of adorning their swords, 



l^ See B. ill. c. 11. 



'^ Theophrastus reckons coral among the precious stones, and the 

 Pseudo- Orpheus among the minerals. Pliny would seem to be at a loss 

 whether to consider it as an animal or a vegetable. In reality it is tlie 

 production of marine organized bodies of an arborescent habit, known as 

 Corallina, with jointed stems, supported on a kind of root divided into 

 branches, which are likewise jointed. 



_ '''* Because Kuplirai^ it is " cut short" in the sea, a far-fetched deriva- 

 tion, apparently. 



'^ Solinus informs us that Zoroaster attributed certain mysterious pro- 

 perties to coral. 



