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Introduction

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12         NATURAL HISTORY OF PRECIOUS STONES, &c.
Boethius, a native of Antwerp, physician to the Emperor Rudolf II., published his book ' De Gemmis et Lapidibus,' in 8vo., which was reprinted in 1647, with many good notes by Tollius. This edition includes the text of Theophrastus, with a commentary, and another shorter treatise, ' De Gemmis,' by A. de Laet, dedi­cated to Elizabeth, daughter of the unfortunate Frederic King of Bohemia, and grand-daughter to our James I. Whoever desires to peruse a work breathing in every line the spirit of those times, an extraordinary mixture of credulity with the most extensive and various learning and great practical experience, will be amply repaid for his trouble in going through this book, written as it is in elegant and easy Latin, by the confidant and helper of the imperial alchemist and virtuoso. He displays much critical knowledge in his attempts to identify the gems known to the ancients by names transferred to others in modern times; and it was a satisfaction to find that his attributions for the most part coincided with my own, made from an independent point of view; my researches into that particular having been nearly completed before De Boot's treatise came to my knowledge. In his disquisitions upon the properties of stones he draws a distinc­tion that curiously illustrates the struggle then going on between traditional superstition and common sense. Whilst admitting, and to the fullest extent, all their medicinal virtues as set forth in the mediaeval Lapidaria, giving recipes for extracting the "spirit of Emerald," for making the "ointment of Lapis-lazuli," &c., he denounces the belief in their magical powers as equally superstitious and derogatory to the idea of Divine Providence. His notices of the native place of the precious stones, the trade in them, their current value, the modes of working them, and their counterfeits, are admirably given in brief yet comprehensive details, showing a thorough acquaintance with this portion of his subject. As far as regards these latter heads, De Laet's treatise, which was evidently intended for a supplement, as concerns the modern division of the subject, to his predecessor's, is deserving of the highest praise, and has afforded mo abundance of informa­tion whenever the jewelry of the Renaissance came under con­sideration. Both treatises have been the source whence subse­quent writers on precious stones have drawn all that is valuable
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