of Plinies Naturall Hiftorie. 589 
A fire-ftones, and of all others they be moft ponderous: thefe bee moft neceffatie for the efpialls 
belonging unto a campe, for if they ftrike them either with an yron {pike or another ftone, they 
will caft forth {parks of fire, which lighting upon matches dipt in brimftone, drie puffs or leaves, 
will caufé them to catch fire fooner than aman can fay the word, 
As touching the {tones Oftracitz, they have a refemblance to oyfter fhels wherof they tooke 
their name: ufed they are much in ftead of pumith ftone tofmooth and flickethe skin: caken in 
drinke, they ftaunch any flux of bloud; and in forme of a liniment applied with hooy, they heale 
the ulcers in womens breafts, and afluagetheir paine. 
The * Amiantftone is like unto Alume, and beeing put into the fire, loofeth nothing of the * Iristaken. 
fubftance :a fingular propertie it hath to refiftall enchantments and forceries, fuch efpecially as sy wh a de 
B magicians doe practile. As for Grodes, the Greeks have given it this fignificant name, becaule i 
it containeth enclofed within the bellie acertaine earth; a medecine foveraigne for the eyes, as 
alfo for the infirmities incident as well to womens paps as mens genetoirs, oheine sine 
The ftone Melitites hath that name, becaufe if itbee bruifed or braied, ityeeldeth fromit a 
cettaine {weet juice in manner of honey: the fame being incorporat in wax, is good to cure the 
flegmaticke wheales, and other puthes or {pecks of the bodie; ithealeth likewife the exulcera- 
tion of the throat: applied with wooll, it taketh away the chilblanes or angrie bloudyfalls called 
Epiny tides : like as the griefe of the matrice it eafeth in the fame manner, 
The Geat, which otherwife we call Gagates, carrieth the name of atowne andriver both in 
 Lycia, called Gages: it is faid alfo, that the fea cafteth it up ata full tide or high water into the 
C Ifland Leucola,where itis gathered within the {pace of twelve ftadia,and no where elfe:blacke it” 
is, plaine and even, of a hollow fubftance in manner of the pumifhftone, not much differing 
fromthe nature of wood; light, brittle, and ifit bee rubbed or bruifed,of a ftrong favour: looke 
what lezters are imprinted with it into any veflell of earth, they will never be gotten out againe: 
whiles it burneth,it yeeldeth the {mell of brimftone:but a wonderfull thing it is of this jeat ftone, 
that water will foone make it to flame, and oile will quench it againe: in burning, the perfume 
thereof chafeth away ferpents,and bringeth women againe that lie in a traunce by the fufloca- 
tion or rifing of the mother : the faid fmoke'difcovereth the falling ficknefle,and bewraieth whe- 
ther a young damfell be a “maiden or no: the fame being boiled in wine,helpeth the toothach; * If the dritke 
and tempered with wax, cureth the {welling glandules named the Kingsevill. They fay thatthe 7 fatieg pre- 
D Magicians fe this jeat tone much in their orceries which they praétife by the means of red hot vox ae es 
axes,which they call Axinomantia; for they affirme, that being caft thereupon it will burneand it thebea 
confume, if that which we defireand with fhall happen accordingly. iis 
As for Spunges, I meane by them in this place certaine {tones found in Spunges,& the fame 
alfo doe engender naturally within them, Somethere bee who call them Tecolithos, becaufe 
they are good for the bladder,in thisrefpeC, that they breake the {tone if they be drunke in wine. 
Asconcerning the Phrygian ftone, it beareth the name of the countrey where iris ordinarily 
found, and it growethin lumps that be hollow in manner of a pumith {tone : the order is to fteep 
it well in wine before it be calcined, and in the burning to maintaine the fire with blatt of bellows 
undill it wax red;chen,to quench it againe in {weet wine, continuing this courfe three times: and 
E when itis thus prepared, itis good only for to fcoure cloth and make it readiefor the dier to take 
acolour. |. 
Cuar. XX 
e& Ofthered bloud-flone Hamatites, and the five forts thereof: alfo of the blacke 
fanguine Stone called Schiftos.. 
He bloud-fione Schiftos and Hoematites both, have a great affinitie one with another. As 
for the bloud-ftone Hoematites,a meere mineral] it is and found in mines of mettall : being 
burnt, itcommeth to the colour of vermillon: the manner of calcining ity ismuch after 
that ofthe Phrygian ftone,but wine ferveth notto quench it: many fophifticat it with Schiftos, 
F and obtrude the’one for the other: but the difference is foon knowne, for that the right Hoema- 
tites hath red veins in it, and befides is by nature fraile and eafie to crumble: of woonderfull ope- 
ration it is to helpe bloudfhotten eies: the fame given to womien to drinke, ftaieth the immode- 
rat flux thatfolloweth them: they alfo that ufe to caft up bloud at the mouth, find helpe by drin- 
king it wich the jaice of a pomegtanat :in the difeafes likewife of the bladder it is verie rae 
Ece an 
