THE PEARLS OF ANTIQUITY
S
INCE we cannot go
back to the very beginning of things in order to establish the point
that the pearl has from time immemorial been esteemed as the most
precious of substances, we must start where we can.
We can perhaps do no better than rely on the evidence contained in the two great Indian epics, the Ramayana and the Mahabharata. Twenty-seven
large pearls are mentioned in these books, as well as another fact of
the greatest interest, namely that on the occasion of a great military
expedition a number of pearl-drillers accompanied the forces, surely
some of the oddest camp followers any army ever had. We can only deduce
from this that the general was a great optimist.
In
the earliest Hindu literature the pearl is always spoken of as having
been brought up from the ocean depths by the god Krishna for the
purpose of beautifying his daughter on her wedding-day. If pearls have
the power of heightening the charms even of a young goddess, no wonder
that in all ages mortal women have sought to benefit from that
reflected glory!
But
Eastern literature, wherever one goes, often mentions the pearl. To
trace every passage would need another long book. In the early records
of the people of Ceylon, for instance, written in the Pali language,
the mention of pearls as suitable gifts from one of their princes to
another in India is significant, all the more that the present was put
in the care of a special messenger. And the fact that in these writings
detailed accounts are available which deal with the production of the
gem is further proof—if it is needed—that these early races of man had
a true appreciation of the beautiful and rare.
Turning again to another ancient civilization, the highest of
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