is an unaccountable fact that he seldom alludes to them, and
only incidentally ; while earlier and contemporary writers frequently mention them, as may be learned from the classic
authors, from the Scriptures (already referred to), and from the
traditions and literature of India, found in the great epics, the
Ramayana, and the Mahabharata, parts of which were written,
it is claimed, nearly four thousand years ago.
Very old Egyptian mummies have been found, decorated
with crowns, necklaces, armlets, ear and finger rings, embellished with pearls and precious stones. Specimens of ancient
gems, engraved with hieroglyphics, are to be seen in the
Louvre, Paris. It has been thought that the interiors of the
pyramids were once decorated with jewelled ornaments ; it was
probably on the tombs of eminent persons buried in these
structures, a common practice in oriental countries.
Babylon has been represented as abounding in all manner
of precious stones ; and Damascus, in eastern metaphor, was a
pearl encircled with emeralds, which proves the early use of
gems for rhetorical figures, at least, and, by implication, for
personal ornament. Some of the ancient jewels now contained
in the British Museum, found among the ruins of Nineveh,
bear date B.C. 700, and others are referred to a later period, including a bracelet inscribed with the name of Nimrod, B.C. 500.
