70 THE CURIOUS LORE OF PRECIOUS STONES
the
diamond should be presented as a token to the pearl, and that pearls
should go with the diamond. The virtues ascribed to this stone are
almost all directly traceable either to its unconquerable hardness or
to its transparency and purity. It was therefore thought to bring
victory to the wearer, by endowing him with superior strength,
fortitude, and courage. Marbodus 39 tells
us it was a magic stone of great power and served to drive away
nocturnal spectres; for this purpose it should be set in gold and worn
on the left arm. For St. Hildegard the sovereign virtue of the diamond
was recognized by the devil, who was a great enemy of this stone
because it resisted his power by day and by night.40 Rueus 41 calls it "a gem of reconciliation," as it enhanced the love of a husband for his wife.
Cardano42 takes a more pessimistic view of the qualities of the diamond. He says :
It
is believed to make the wearer unhappy; its effects therefore are the
same upon the mind as that of the sun upon the eye, for the latter
rather dims than strengthens the sight. It indeed renders fearless,
but there is nothing that contributes more to our safety than prudence
and fear; therefore it is better to fear.
The
diamond was often associated with the lightning and was sometimes
believed to owe its origin to the thunderbolt, but we do not recall
having seen elsewhere the statement made in an anonymous Italian
manuscript of the fourteenth century. Here it is expressly
" " De lapidibus," Friburgi, 1531, f. 8.
" St. Hildegard«, " Opera Omnia," in Pat. Lat. ed Migne, vol. cxcvii, col. 1254.
41 " De gemmis," Tiguri, 1566, f. 52.
" " Philosophi opera quœdam lectu digna," Basilea?, 1585, p. 322. "De gemmis."
