The
Beryl helped " defluxions of the throat: " whilst the Sardonyx made men
cheerful, averting melancholy. The Chrysolite was reputed to ward off
fevers ; the Onyx, moreover, when worn round the neck, prevented
epileptic fits. The Opal was thought to cure weak eyes; and the
Bloodstone was frequently carried by warriors, that it might arrest
bleeding from a wound.
By
" Precious Stones " are meant, according to the general acceptation of
this term, minerals remarkable for hardness, lustre, beauty of colour,
and transparency, as well as for their rarity in nature. Rut, beyond
these manifest endowments, the Gems proper, together with several other
stones of less commercial value, are to be highly prized, as of yore by
the ancients, on account oi their so-called spiritual powers, and their
subtle health-restoring virtues. A main purpose of the volume now
undertaken is to vindicate on sound, and even scientific, grounds the
confidence reposed by our forefathers in Precious Stones for remedial
uses, whether by outward wear, or by other such means as were inspired
by nature and gleaned by simple experience. " The estimation in which
these Flowers of the Mineral Kingdom have been held from the very
earliest ages, alike by the most refined, and the most barbarous
nations is little short of wonderful; insomuch that Gems do really seem
to exercise occult charms which cause them to have always, been widely
coveted from the first." It is noteworthy that tropical countries are
far more prolific in affording Precious Stones than other parts of the
globe; wherefore it would seem as if those lands on which the sun
shines with most power and splendour produce Gems, the more abundantly;
perhaps, too, the volcanic
