610 The feven and thirtieth Booke 
time were of opinion that it was to be had in the mines only of Aithyopia,andnamely betweene G — 
the temple of Mercurie and the I{land Meroé, affirming moreover,that the faireft Diamant that 
ever was found,exceeded not in bignefle a Cucumber feed, whereunto alfoitwas not unlike in 
colour.But in thefe daies there be knowne fix forts of Diamants. The Indian is not engendred in 
mines of gold,buthath a great affinitie with Cryftall, and groweth much after that manner ; for 
in tranfparent and cleare colour it differeth not at ail neither yet otherwhiles in the {mooth fides 
and faces which it carieth betweene fix angles, pointed fharpe at one end in manner of a top, or 
elfe two contrarie waies lozengewife(a wonderfull thing to confider)as if the flatends of twotops 
were fet and joined together: and for bigneffe, it hath been knowne of the quantitie of an Hazel- 
nut or Filbardkernill. Phe Diamants of Arabia,be much like unto the Indian,only they arelefle; _ 
they growalfo after the fame order:As for thereft,they are of amore pale and yellowcolour, te- Hj 
{tifying out of what countrey and nationthey come, for they breed not butin mines of gold, 
and thofe the moftexcellent of all others, The triall of thefeDiamants is upon a {miths Anvill ; 
for {trike as hard as you will with an hammer upon the point of a Diamant, you fhall fee howit 
{corneth all blowes, and rather than it will {eemetorelenr, firft Aieth the hammer that {miterh, 
in peeces,and the very anvill it felfe underneath cleavethintwaine. VWonderfull and inenatra- 
bleis the hardneffe of a Diamant: befides it hath a Nature to conquer the furie of fire, nay,you 
{hall never make it hore, doe what youcan : for this untamable vertue thatithath, the Greekes 
have given it the name Adamas « One of thefekinds the faid Greekes call Cenchron,for that it 
is as big ordinarily as the Millet feed : a fecond fort they name Macedonicum,foundin the mine 
of gold near Philippi; and this is that Diamant,which for quantitie iscomparedtotheCucum- J _ 
ber feed : After thefe, there is the Cyprian Diamant, fo called, becau(e itis found in the Ifle Cy- 
prus ; it enclineth much to thecolour of braffe, but in cafes of Phyficke(asI will fhewanon)moft 
effectuall: Next to which I muftraungethe Diamant Siderites,which fhineth as brightasitecle, 
whereuponit tooke that name: in weight it paffeth thereft, but in nature itis farce unlike ;for it 
will not abide the hammer but breake into peeces ; befides another adamant will pierce it,and 
bore a hole quite through it: which alfo may be faid of the Cypfian Diamant: fo as to fpeake in 
one word, thefe two laftrehearfed,may go only under the name of Diamants: for otherwifethey 
are but baftards,and nottrue Diamants. Morcover,as touching the concord and difeord that is 
betweene things naturall,which the Greekes call Sympathia and Antipathia(whereof Ihave fo 
much written in all my bookes, and endevoured to acquaint the readers therewith) innothing K ~ 
throughout the world may we obferve both the one & the other more evidently, than in the Dia- 
manc:For this invincible minerall (againft which neither fire nor fteele,the two moft violent and 
puiflant creatures of Natures making;have any power, butthat it checketh anddefpifethboth 
the one and the other) is forced to yeeld the gantelet and give place untothe bloud ofa Goat, 
this onely thing is the meanes to breake it in funder, howbeit,care muft be had, that the Diamant 
be fteeped therin whiles it is frefh drawn from the beaft before it be cold :and yet when you have 
made all the fteeping youcan, you muft have many a blowat the Diamant with hammer upon 
the anvill : for even then alfo,unleffe they be of excellent proofe & good indeed, it will put them 
to it;and breake both the one and the other:But! would gladly know whofe invention this might 
be tofoake the Diamant in Goats bloud,whofe head devifed it firft,orratherby whatchance was J 
it found out and knowne? What conjecture fhould leada man to make an experiment of fuch a 
fingular & admirable fecret,efpeciallyin a goat,the filthieft beaft one of them in the whole world? 
Certes I muft afcribe both this invention and all fuch liketo the might and beneficence together 
| of the divine powers : neither are we to argue and reafon howand why Nature hath done this or 
~ tharefufficient icis that her will wasfo,and thus fhe would have it.But to come againe to the Dia- 
mant,when this proofe taketh effe& to our mind, fo that the Diamant once crack, you fhall feeit 
breake and crumble into fo finall peeces, that hardly the eie can difcerne the one from the other. 
Well lapidaries are very defirous of Diamants &feeke much after them :they fer chem into han- 
| dles of yron,&by their means they will with facilitie cut into any thing,be it never fo hard.More- 
over, there isfuch a naturall enmitie between Diamants and Loadftones,thatif it be laid neatto [y - 
a peece of yron, it will not fuffer it to be drawn away by the loadftone: nay, if the faid loadftone be 
brought fonear a peece of yron,thatic have caught hold therof,the Diamant,ifitcome in place, _ 
will caufe st toleave the hold & lee it go, The Diamant hatha property to fruftrate the malicious 
effects of poyfon; to drive away thofe imaginations that fet folke befides themfelves; &to expell 
vaing 
Ree panneegy 297 z 
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