rays of the sun to procure heat for cauterizing wounds and to light fires, especially sacrificial ones.
The following lines, adopted from an early Roman writer, refer to the latter custom:
"Take
in thy pious hand the Crystal bright, Translucent image of the Eternal
Light; Pleased with its luster, every power divine Shall grant thy vows
presented at their shrine; But how to prove the virtue of the stone, A
certain mode I will to thee make known: To kindle without fire the
sacred blaze, This wondrous gem on splintered pine-wood place,
Forthwith, reflecting the bright orb of day, Upon the wood it shoots a
slender ray • Caught by the unctuous fuel this will raise First smoke,
then sparkles, then a mighty blaze: Such we the fire of ancient Vesta
name, Loved by th' immortals all, a holy flame; No other fire with such
grateful fumes The fatted victim on their hearths consumes; Yet though
of flame the cause, strange to be told, The stone snatched from the
blaze is icy cold."
Globes
of rock crystal were found among the ruins at Nineveh, showing that the
mineral was prized by that people. The Venetians carried the art of
engraving on rock crystal to a high degree of perfection, the effect
of the figures being greatly enhanced by the addition of foils of
different colors. Rock crystal was also formerly stained many different
colors to imitate other gems. The staining was performed by heating
the stones to redness and immersing them in a dye possessing the
desired color. The sudden change of temperature causes minute cracks
over the surface, imperceptible to the naked eye, which absorb the
coloring matter, and give the effect of complete coloration.
The
use of quartz balls for divination has already been referred to. Rock
crystal has also long been credited with curative powers, especially of
hemorrhage and dysentery. To cure the former it is applied to the
bleeding part, and to cure the latter the powder mixed with wine is
drunk. It has also been regarded a cure for headache and faintness if
held in the mouth. In parts of Virginia it is supposed to be a cure for
sties, the sty being rubbed with the crystal three times a day for
three days.
Many
of the tribes of the North American Indians use pieces of rock crystal
in their ceremonies, and regard them as having special magical powers.
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