108 THE CUEIOUS LORE OF PRECIOUS STONES
c
The
Italian peasants of to-day believe that pebbles of green serpentine
afford protection from the bites of venomous creatures. These stones
are usually green with streaks or veins of white, and the name was
derived from their fancied resemblance to a serpent's skin. In
addition to their prophylactic powers, if any one has been bitten by
such a creature, the stone, when applied to the wound, is supposed to
draw out the poison. Here, as in the case of coral, the hand of man
must not have shaped the amulet; it should be in its natural state. As
a general rule, however, the belief that the touch of any iron
instrument, such as the tool of the gem-cutter, destroys the magic
efficacy of the substance, is less firmly held in regard to stones than
in reference to coral.121
See Chrysolite.
While
there was a tendency to attribute the virtues originally ascribed to
one particular stone to others of the same or similar color and
appearance, certain stones were regarded as possessing special virtues
not commonly attributed to others. A notable instance of this is the
quality supposed to inhere in the turquoise. This stone was known in
Egypt from a very early period and is later described by Pliny under
the name of callais. For Pliny, and for all those who derived
their information from him or from the sources he used, the turquoise
only participated in the virtues assigned to all blue or
121 Bellucci, " Il feticismo primitivo in Italia," Perugia, 1907, pp. 25, 26.
