its fatality to its shape and hardness. He, therefore, says that it bores a
hole into the liver and intestines, and this would not take a long time.
Also, it cannot be used in its original form, otherwise the person to
whom it is given, will become suspicious. It can be administered only
after being thoroughly ground in which case it cannot have the capacity
to perforate the stomach. Grinding will do away with its hot and acrid
attributes, if this is not so, it would be impossible to administer it as a
drink to a third person, since it can be administered if mixed with sugar
or salt, as in itself it is tasteless. If it has not been ground well, it will be
betrayed by the teeth of the eater. A dog was administered the diamond.
It was affected neither at the time nor was any effect noted later.
It is all idle talk, without any substance as is the belief about the diamond that it is the congealment of smoke, in the same manner as sal ammoniac results from the congealment of smoke. People compare it to
the notch of the arrows receiving the string as they believe it to be a
slayer and the product of lightning, just as sal ammoniac is held to be the
product of smoke. When people observed in diamond the glitter of the
arrow, they began to compare it to arrows.
In order to generate surprise among the commonalty, these people
also say that it is the hardest amongst all precious stones and overcomes
all the other stones, yet the softest and least compact metal breaks it,
that is, the lead that is wax-like. But this amounts to staking a wrong
claim. It is for a different reason that this is so. Lead breaks up gold and
even the dross from which it is obtained if coated upon (gold). It also
pulverises the diamond. The fact is that, when diamond is broken between the hammer and the anvil, it spoils the surfaces of both, and if it
breaks, it destroys both. It is, therefore, wrapped in a layer of pieces of
lead and given soft strokes. The stroke is effective, and also does not
harm the anvil and the hammer, and is also saved from falling and dispersing. Wax is employed in place of lead in unbubat qasab (the reed).
When on grinding and pulverisation its pieces get smaller, the jewellers
coat them with something that keeps the flies away. Jewellers say that
when the fly perches upon diamond grains, they cling to its proboscis
with the result that the total weight of the diamond diminishes. This is
also observed in the case of barley gruel and pieces of bread loaves when
flies sit on them. Their proboscis is like the miswak which draws off the
moisture, and whatever it wishes to carry clings to it.
if a soft object is inserted between a hard object and the thing to be
penetrated, then the effect to be achieved would be enhanced. If an archer wishes to hit an iron plate and to bore a hole into it, he puts a flat
piece of flesh upon the plate. The arrow does not cling to the flesh, although it first penetrates it but its impact is felt upon the plate through
it. Similarly, if a thin loaf of bread is tied to a hard object, the knife
