184 THE CURIOUS LORE OF PRECIOUS STONES
a
priest who was addicted to the use of these magic arts. This priest
used to polish the finger-nails of the boys with a consecrated oil or
ointment, and then direct them to look upon the polished surface until
some figure or form should appear. Sometimes the smooth, polished
surface of a basin was used. John of Salisbury regarded it as a mark of
divine favor that he himself saw nothing upon the smooth and lustrous
surface, but he states that his companion observed certain vague and
shadowy forms. Certain names pronounced by the priest on these
occasions terrified the boy, for he believed them to be the names of
evil spirits; indeed, such was his reluctance to participate in the
unholy rites that his presence was believed to interfere with the
production of the phenomena.14
In
another part of his "Policraticus," John of Salisbury states that the
specularii claimed that their gift of seeing visions on polished
surfaces was never used to injure any one, but was often useful in the
detection of theft and in counteracting magic spells.15
Under
the comprehensive chapter heading: "How to conjure the crystal so that
all things may be seen in it," Paracelsus (1493-1541) declares in that
"to conjure" means nothing more than "to observe anything rightly, to
learn and to understand what it is." The crystal was of the nature of
the air, and hence all things movable and immovable that could be seen
in the air could also be seen in the crystal or speculum.16
"Johannis Saresberensis, "Policraticus," Lyon, 1513, fols. lxxvii, verso, lxxviii, recto, lib. ii, cap. 28.
"Johannis Saresberensis, I. c, fol. Lxxvi, recto, lib. ii, cap. 28.
10"
Tbe Hermetic and Alchemical writings of Aureolus Philippus Theophrastus
Bombast of Hohenheim, called Paracelsus the Great," trans, by Arthur
Edward Waite, London, 1894, vol. i, p. 224.
