Oo4 THE DIAMOND AND OTHEE PRECIOUS STONES. 



of objects that constitute tlie physical universe, and is not applied to 

 the occult cause bj^ which they were iiroduced. Here, as everywhere 

 else, science, iu order to make real progress, has abandoned ambitious 

 metaphysical speculations for sagacious observations and wild hy- 

 potheses for sober facts. 



It would be interesting to trace the history of gems in connection with 

 the history of man from the times of A.aron's ephod to those of the pas- 

 toral cross of the archbishop of Paris; from the time of the presenting 

 of rubies, sapphires, emeralds, diamonds, topazes, sardonj-xes, ame- 

 thysts, the carbuncle and loadstone, as offerings iu the temple of Jupiter 

 and other jiagan divinities, to that of an accumulation of wealth of 

 a similar character prior to the sixteenth century in the treasury of 

 Christian churches. 



But, without attempting this labor, we may observe, in iiassing, that 

 these precious gifts, the offerings of the piety of the faithful, have not 

 always been faithfully preserved. When, during the reformation of 

 Calvin and Luther iu Germany, and later, iu the time of the French revolu- 

 tion, this votive wealth was delivered over to the civil authorities, it was 

 discovered that many fraudulent substitutions had been made, and that 

 paste had very often been substituted for the primitive gem. ■ 



The famous London Exposition of 1851 prided itself upon the posses- 

 sion of the great diamond, the Koh-i-noor, (Mountain of Light,) captured 

 from the Maha-radjas of India, and presented to Queen Victoria. As 

 to the antiquity of this gem, it is asserted that it was worn by Kama, 

 King of Anga, three thousand and one years before our era. Observe 

 the preciseness of this date. I have nothing to offer in objection to it, 

 and am even read^^ to grant the truth of the assertion ; for who can 

 prove the contrary' ? We can say, however, quite as much in behalf of 

 the truth of the marvelous properties ascribed to precious stones by 

 antiquity and the middle ages, and admit without hesitation, as they 

 have done, the influence of the planets and other celestial bodies. For 

 the cure of all diseases of a moral or nervous character, wherein the 

 imagination exercised a predominant influen(;e, gems were the sovereign 

 remedy. In declaring to a patient that an emerald, placed at the head 

 of his bed, would cure hypochondria, drive away nightmare, calm palpi- 

 tations of the heart, enliven the imagination, or dissipate mental troubles, 

 success was assured by the faith alone iu the efScacj^ of the remedy. The 

 exijectancy of cure in these affections was itself the cause of the cure, 

 and in all of the countless cases in which the moral exercised an influ- 

 ence over the physical, an imaginary cause must produce a real effect. 

 In short, a constant teudenc}^ to self-deception of the human mind, which 

 leads us to regard only accidental successes, and to take no note of 

 failures, contributed to maintain the belief in the hidden virtues of 

 precious stones. It is not above half a century since diamonds and 

 other gems were borrowed from rich families to be applied in the cure 

 of local diseases. Care, however, was taken when the jewel was intro- 



